If your car breaks down, not only can getting it fixed be expensive, just getting it towed to the mechanic can be costly as well.
Sadly, cars sometimes break down, your car battery dies, or you run out of gas, leaving you stranded at the side of the road wondering how much it’s going to cost to get your vehicle to the auto repair shop.
Thankfully, there are cheap and free ways to get your car towed.
Below, I’ve included ways you can get your car towed for free or at a low cost, whether you need your car to be towed from the highway, from in front of your driveway, or from anywhere on your property This can save you so much money!
Knowing that you can have your car towed cheaply or for free can also save yourself any additional stress before that dreaded check engine light coms on or if something happens to your vehicle and it needs a tow.
So, here’s how you can get your car towed for free or at a low cost.
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Table of Contents
Contact Your Insurance Provider
Some auto insurance providers actually provide cheap or free roadside assistance, which includes towing, as a benefit to their customers.
This tends to be available on comprehensive and collision auto insurance plans.
So, have a read of your car insurance policy, and see if it includes towing. Your auto policy may include roadside assistance. If it doesn’t, call your provider, as they may be able to add these services to your coverage for a small fee.
This is actually how my husband gets his roadside assistance. He just paid a few dollars extra per month on this insurance policy, and he’s covered. It has saved us a lot of stress, as we know that if the car breaks down, we can get assistance, and all for just a few extra bucks per month.
Here are some examples of auto insurance companies that are known to offer roadside assistance:
Allstate
It can cost as little as $25 per car, per year to add basic roadside assistance, which includes towing, to your auto insurance policy. Allstate does have pay-per-use coverage available, but it costs $149 per tow, which is too expensive! So, the insurance add-on coverage, which costs as little as $25 per year and includes towing and roadside services is a much better option cost-wise.
Progressive Insurance
Progressive has 24/7 Roadside Assistance. This is extra coverage that you can add to your policy. Services include towing, as well as winching, jump-starts, fuel delivery, vehicle lockout, and flat tire. The service isn’t free, but it only costs between $15 and $60 a year, making it a much more affordable option.
Geico
Geico offers roadside assistance through its Emergency Road Service Coverage. This includes towing to the nearest repair facility.
You can get assistance from Geico 24/7, and there’s even a mobile app you can use to request help in as little as 2 minutes. You can get emergency road service for as little as $14 a year per car! That’s like $1.16 per month!
Ask Your Mobile Service Provider
Some mobile carriers actually offer services like towing. It’s usually cheap. While there’s sometimes an extra cost, it doesn’t usually add up to that much. You can just pay a small fee to the cell phone provider and get access to roadside assistance.
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Contact your mobile service provider to learn more.
Some cell phone companies that offer roadside assistance to customers include:
- Verizon
- T-Mobile
- Sprint
Check Your Warranty
All new vehicles that are sold in the United States come with at least two auto warranties and many include roadside assistance. This means that if your car is still under warranty, you may be able to get roadside assistance services, such as towing, from the automaker.
You can check the owner’s manual for details or ask your dealer.
Here are some car manufacturers that offer roadside assistance:
Acura
Acura offers roadside assistance for 4 years or 50,000 miles.
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo provides roadside assistance for 4 years/unlimited miles.
Audi
Audi offers roadside assistance for 4 years/unlimited miles.
BMW
BMW provides roadside assistance for 4 years/unlimited miles.
Buick
Buick offers assistance for 6 years/70,000 miles.
Cadillac
Cadillac provides roadside coverage for 6 years/70,000 miles.
Chevrolet
Get coverage for 5 years or 60,000 miles with Chevrolet.
Chrysler
Get coverage from Chrysler for 5 years/100,000 miles.
Dodge
Dodge offers coverage for 5 years/100,000 miles.
Fiat
Fiat provides roadside coverage for 4 years and unlimited miles.
Ford
Get roadside assistance from Ford for 5 years/60,000 miles.
Genesis
With Genesis, you can get roadside coverage for 5 years/unlimited miles.
GMC
GMC offers coverage for 5 years/60,000 miles.
Honda
Honda provides coverage for 3 years/36,000 miles.
Hyundai
Hyundai provides coverage for 5 years/unlimited miles.
Infiniti
Infiniti will provide roadside assistance for 4 years/unlimited miles.
Jaguar
Get coverage from Jaguar for 5 years/60,000 miles.
Jeep
Jeep offers coverage for 5 years/60,000 miles.
Kia
Get roadside assistance from Kia for 5 years/60,000 miles.
Land Rover
Get coverage from Land Rover for 4 years/50,000 miles.
Lexus
Lexus offers road assistance for 4 years/unlimited miles.
Lincoln
Lincoln offers unlimited roadside assistance.
Mazda
Mazda offers roadside coverage for 5 years/unlimited miles.
Mercedes
Mercedes provides roadside coverage for 4 years or 50,000 miles.
Mini
Mini offers coverage for 4 years/unlimited miles.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi provides coverage for 5 years/unlimited miles.
Nissan
Get roadside assistance from Nissan for 3 years/36,000 miles.
Porsche
Porsche offers coverage for 4 years/50,000 miles.
Ram
Ram provides coverage for 5 years/100,000 miles.
Smart
Smart offers coverage for 4 years/50,000 miles.
Subaru
Subaru provides coverage for 3 years/36,000 miles.
Tesla
Tesla offers coverage for 4 years/50,000 miles.
Toyota
Toyota provides roadside assistance for 2 years/25,000 miles.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen offers roadside assistance for 3 years/36,000 miles.
Volvo
Volvo offers roadside coverage for 4 years/unlimited miles.
Get Free Towing from Your Credit Card Company
Some credit card companies offer roadside assistance for free as a benefit to customers.
There might be certain exclusions, such as a limit on the number of towing miles, so do check before you use the service. If you are considering getting a credit card anyway, then you might want to consider getting one that comes with some sort of roadside coverage. Or, if you already have a credit card, then check to see if it offers this benefit.
Here are some places that offer credit cards with roadside assistance.
Chase
Chase provides roadside assistance to cardholders traveling in the U.S. and Canada. It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by calling 1-800-847-2869. Roadside assistance includes towing up to 5 miles. Any additional fees for services (if applicable) will be charged to the cardmember’s Chase card.
Capital One
Many Capital One credit cards come with roadside assistance benefits. You can get Capital One’s roadside assistance network benefits from Visa and MasterCard. Lots of the company’s cards come with roadside assistance, such as the Venture card, the Savor card, and the Quicksilver card.
The services covered will vary from card to card, but typically, towing is included in the Capital One credit card roadside assistance network benefit. The price for these roadside assistance network benefits depends on your card.
You may only need to pay a flat fee for each roadside service that you need, but there may be additional fees in some situations, such as if your car needs to be towed more than 5 miles or if it needs to be winched out of a ditch.
To get access to these benefits, all you need to do is call. Just check your card’s benefits guide to see which number to call if you require roadside assistance.
VISA
All VISA cards include access to Roadside Dispatch, which is a pay-per-use roadside assistance program.
Just call 1-800-847-2869, 24 hours a day/7 days a week and Roadside Dispatch will assist you. This service includes towing.
You pay a set rate per service call. No membership is required, and you don’t need to enroll either. There’s no limit on usage.
Make sure that you read the full terms and conditions which are linked on the page in the subheading, or check with your card issuer for a copy of your Guide to Benefits.
Get Free or Cheap Towing with Memberships, Clubs, and Organizations
Some memberships, clubs, and organizations offer cheap or free roadside assistance to their members. For example, one of the many benefits of AAA is free towing.
Here are some examples:
- AAA
- National General Motor Club
- AARP
- Honk (No subscription required. So, no membership fees. Just pay for the service, which you can access through the website and app when you need assistance).
Free Towing Summary
For the most part, there’s no truly free way to get your car towed. Most of the time you will need to pay for a service, but some places do provide free car tow services as a benefit to consumers.
This includes mobile carriers and automakers while cars are under warranty.
Some places offer cheap tow services, like credit card companies and insurance providers. So, they can be worthwhile too.
Thankfully, there are many ways to save money on roadside assistance services like getting your car towed. So, give these tips a try.