A roadside patrol fixes the car where it stopped. A tow truck carries it to someone who can fix it. Ring the right one first and you skip a patrol callout that ends with a tow booked anyway, and a second wait at the kerb.
Faults a roadside patrol can fix on the spot
Roadside assistance comes with a motoring club membership, and some car insurance policies include it. The patrol works on the car where it stands, and these are the jobs it handles:
- a flat battery that needs a jump start
- a punctured tyre, if the spare is in good shape
- an empty fuel tank
- keys locked inside the car
Once the car is running, you drive it away. Watch for a car that dies again a few streets later. That can mean a battery that won’t hold charge or a failing alternator, and then the car needs an auto electrician.
Signs the car needs a tow truck
Call a tow truck if a patrol can’t get the car going, or if it won’t be safe to drive once it is. Any one of these is a reason to call the truck:
- the temperature needle in the red, or steam from under the bonnet
- an oil pressure warning light or a knock from the engine
- no drive, a slipping clutch or a gearbox stuck in one gear
- fluid pooling under the car
- a wheel or the steering knocked out of line by a kerb or a pothole
- a flat tyre with no usable spare, or a bent rim
- crash damage to the wheels, steering or lights
Driving on with one of these can cost you a second repair. An engine kept running after it overheats can blow its head gasket, and a gearbox that has started slipping can finish itself off.
Ask for a tilt tray if the car is all-wheel drive or the fault is in the gearbox. It carries the car with all four wheels off the road, so nothing in the driveline turns on the way to the workshop.
A patrol callout can still end in a tow
Plenty of breakdowns start with a patrol and finish on a tow truck. The patrol finds a fault it can’t fix at the kerb and recommends a tow. Some memberships and insurance policies pay for that tow, up to a distance they set or to a repairer they choose. Read your cover before you need it. If you plan to claim, ring the insurer before you book anyone, because some insurers won’t pay for a tow they didn’t arrange.
If the covered tow won’t reach your own mechanic, or you have no cover, ring a tow operator yourself. Tell them the make and model, where the car is, where it’s going and what the patrol found.
The cost of a patrol and a tow
With a membership, the patrol callout comes out of what you’ve already paid. Read the terms for what costs extra, such as a new battery.
Tow operators price a tow by the job: the distance to the car and on to the drop-off, the time of day, the vehicle and how easy it is to reach. A tow at night, on a weekend or on a public holiday costs more than the same job on a weekday. Get the price before you say yes to anyone. The towing cost guide explains what moves the number in Adelaide.
After a crash, the roster sends the first truck
A crash in metropolitan Adelaide follows its own rules. The state’s accident towing roster sends the truck that clears the scene, and you or the police book it on (08) 8116 9209. Once the car has gone to a holding yard or your home, you pick who moves it next, and we can carry it on to your repairer.
We tow, and we’ll say if a patrol suits you better
SA Best Towing doesn’t do jump starts, tyre changes or fuel deliveries. We carry broken-down cars on a Hino tilt tray from our yard in Angle Park to the mechanic you choose, or home. Describe the fault on the phone. If it sounds like a patrol job, we’ll tell you. If it needs the tray, we’ll give you the price before you book anything.
Ring 0457 300 057 and tell us the car, what it’s doing and where you are. The breakdown towing page shows how the job runs from there.