Interesting story about towing costs...

Tips for towing, from hidden fees to costly considerations

Posted: 11:00 PM May 19, 2010
Reporter: Heather Haley
From VolunteerTV.com in Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- It's something you may not think about, until your family is stranded on the side of the road. Knowing who to call for a tow, when your vehicle stops, can be a tough decision.

It's actually important that you know before your car breaks down, because you can't be sure if the company that is coming to your aid is a reputable business.It's the end of a long day at work, and you just want to get home, but your car has a different idea.

Mario Pac said, "My friend was driving my car, and it just broke down." Stranded in a parking lot, Mario called AAA, and Tony Nelson with Moneymaker Wrecker Services, helped him on his way again.

Tony says, "I'll give them a rough estimate. I'll type in the GPS, so we'll know about how far their limit is, and if they're going to have to pay any over-mileage. That way they'll know before I tow."

Stephanie Milani with AAA East Tennessee said, "If you're on the road and you break down, chances are a tow is going to cost you anywhere from $65 to $75 just to start off."

And, Stephanie says that's just the first fee you could face, "Sometimes you'll get some hidden charges, you might want to ask for those up front, if you're calling for a tow," said Stephanie.

"Also if they have to spend extra time on the scene, if its just not a standard town, you may also see those charges reflected," she warned.

Weekday evenings can get very busy for Tony, as people hit the road trying to get home, and he said, "Most of them are collision or AAA calls."

Stephanie recommends checking into tow companies before you need to call them, that way you don't end up with a very expensive chauffeur ride home for you and your vehicle.

And, with the busy, summer travel season ahead beware, the mileage can really add up if you need to have your car towed across county, or even state lines.

So AAA officials say to be extra cautious, and ask about any and every possible cost, before your vehicle is towed.

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What I Do: I run Liberty Towing Service

State Journal Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 3:48 pm

Name: Simon Birch
Age: 45
Occupation: Co-owner of Liberty Towing Service, Madison
Web: http://www.libertytowing.us/
Number of years on the job: 29

Ever since I was 12 years old in my native Coventry, England, I knew this was what I wanted to do.My friend, Harvey Wasson, owned a towing service there, and he let me ride with him. Harvey worked round-the-clock and built a large business. He taught me how to run a towing business and to provide excellent customer service. I came to Madison in 1991 to work for a towing company. In 1989, I read an article in American Towman magazine about the business and wrote a letter to the owner telling him that I’d like to work for him. He invited me to come over to look at the operation and helped me to apply for a visa.The towing business is 24/7. To be successful, you have to have a passion for towing and be prepared to work long hours. My business partner, Rod Timmerman, and I alternate manning the phones overnight to provide towing, recovery and transportation service.We opened Liberty Towing in June 2009 and contract with 70 repair shops, the Wisconsin State Patrol, Dane County Sheriff’s Office and the Fitchburg Police Department. We travel wherever a customer needs us, including Chicago, Milwaukee and northern Wisconsin. We recently won the 2009 Zip’s medium-duty truck of the year award for our Freightliner extended-cab tow truck. Rod and I designed and customized the truck, which has lighted compartments and underbody dolly storage and dual 15,000-pound winches. It was produced for us by Zip’s Truck Equipment in Iowa.I get satisfaction out of knowing that I’m helping someone in their time of need and have taken them to a place of safety. Customers are having a bad day because they’ve just been in an accident or their car died on the highway. The challenge to this job is that it’s very dangerous and has a high loss of drivers. Imagine being under a vehicle just six inches from the white line on the highway shoulder with cars zooming by. I work in all conditions, whether it’s raining, snowing, 100 degrees or 30 below. The most interesting thing that I’ve towed is a killer whale from Sea World when I lived in Florida. The 50-foot trailer had a specially made tank, which I drove across Orlando at night because of the heat, to the airport to board a cargo plane bound for Spain.

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Car Being Towed Catches Fire On I-95

Car Being Towed Catches Fire On I-95

Tow Truck Driver Escapes Unharmed
POSTED: 9:18 am EDT April 28, 2010

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A tow truck driver escaped unharmed after the car he was towing caught fire early Wednesday morning.

The fire started about 1 a.m. along southbound Interstate 95 near Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.

WPBF 25 News was first at the scene when firefighters were extinguishing the flames.

The tow truck driver told WPBF 25 News he was towing a car that had been involved in a fire when he saw smoke. He stopped to lower the car from his truck when it burst into flames. No One was injured

Fairness in Towing

Moreno Valley tow truck operators could get rotation system

By LAURIE LUCAS
The Press-Enterprise


Tow truck drivers in Moreno Valley may finally get an official rotation system.

Under the proposed city-wide fee schedule for fiscal year 2010-11, tow truck operators would pay an application fee of $2,828 for a five-year contract and post a $5,000 deposit to cover administrative costs. Owners of towed cars would have to pay $74 to recover their vehicles.

The City Council is expected to vote on the fee schedule tonight after a public hearing , which starts at 6:30 p.m. State law requires that municipalities can only charge fees to recover costs, not to make profits.

Moreno Valley has an ordinance that's languished on the books for more than a decade involving towing service rotation, said Rick Hartmann, the interim assistant city manager.

Most California cities and counties have a rotation set up with area operators so that business is spread out equally.

Hartmann said that currently six tow truck operators serve Moreno Valley. "They've requested a formalized, comprehensive program," he said.

Another suggested change before the council is raising the CPR and First Aid class fees in the Fire Department from $30 to $65 per student so that the program will become self-sufficient. .

In other business, the board will discuss four funding alternatives to help build $6.3 million worth of Eucalyptus Avenue street improvements between Redlands Boulevard and Theodore Avenue. When completed, this segment will include three full travel lanes, sidewalks, bus turnouts, emergency access and extensive landscaping.

This important arterial highway is near the future site of Highland Fairview Corporate Park, with Skechers USA Inc. as the main tenant. Skechers signed an 11-year, $100 million lease for a 1.8 million-square-foot building.

"The conditions of approval don't say the developer has to fund the improvements," Hartmann said. "The conditions say the developer has to build them."

He said the city has come up with proposals for the developer, Highland Fairview, to borrow money from different sources. "This is not considered a violation of the conditions of approval," he said.

One of those days...