A towing app that quotes by distance, not by phone call
Tell the app where the vehicle is and where it needs to go. You get one total for the tow, the operator who accepts it, and a map you can watch until the truck arrives.
A towing app books a tow truck from your phone and prices the job by distance before dispatch. TowManVan calculates the total from your pickup point, your destination postcode and the vehicle's kerb weight, then sends the nearest flatbed or spec-lift operator. Download is free and there is no membership.
Towing is priced differently from a roadside repair, and conflating the two is where most quotes go wrong. A jump start is a fixed job. A tow is a distance job, and the cost is dominated by how far the truck travels loaded, plus the dead mileage getting to you in the first place.
That makes towing an unusually good fit for an app. Both ends of the journey are known before anyone sets off, so the mileage can be calculated exactly rather than estimated at the kerb and revised upward afterwards.
TowManVan tapers the per-mile rate deliberately. The first three miles sit inside the base price. Miles four to fifteen are £5 each, which reflects the fact that short tows are mostly setup time rather than driving. Past fifteen miles the rate drops to £3, and on runs beyond roughly sixty miles it drops again to £1.24. Without that taper a 200 mile tow would price at over £1,000 and simply would not get booked.
Van and minibus towing is priced separately from £120, because a 3.5 tonne panel van needs a different truck and a different tie-down method from a hatchback. That distinction is made at booking rather than discovered when the wrong vehicle turns up.
How the towing app works
Set both ends
Pickup comes from GPS or a dropped pin. Destination is a postcode, a garage or a dealership. The app needs both before it will quote.
Confirm the vehicle
Registration lookup returns weight and body type, which decides whether the job needs a flatbed, a spec lift or a van-capable truck.
Review the mileage breakdown
The quote shows base rate and the per-mile tiers separately, so you can see exactly how the distance was priced rather than trusting one number.
Watch the truck in
The accepting operator appears on the map. Pickup and drop-off are both photographed in the app for the condition record.
What it costs
Mileage is calculated on the loaded route between your pickup and your destination. The tiers are shown broken out in the app so you can see how the total was reached.
| Service | Price | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Local tow, up to 3 miles | From £70 | Base rate by vehicle weight. Covers loading, securing and the first 3 miles. |
| Miles 4 to 15 | £5 per mile | A 15 mile tow lands around £130 for a standard car. |
| Miles 15 to about 60 | £3 per mile | The mid-range taper. A 40 mile tow sits around £200. |
| Long distance beyond that | £1.24 per mile | Keeps a 200 mile tow near £400 rather than four figures. |
| Van or minibus tow | From £120 | Up to 2 miles included, then £4 per mile to 10 miles, £3 per mile to £230. |
| Vehicle will not roll | £65 | Flat fee for skates where a wheel is seized, locked or missing. |
What the app does
Both ends priced before dispatch
The app will not quote until it knows the destination, because a tow without a destination is not a priceable job.
Truck matched to the vehicle
Kerb weight and body type decide whether the job needs a flatbed, a spec lift or a van-rated truck. That is settled at booking.
Tapered mileage you can inspect
The quote breaks out base, mid-tier and long-distance miles as separate lines instead of one opaque figure.
Pickup and drop-off photos
The operator records the vehicle at both ends. If a dealership later queries a mark, the timestamped record already exists.
Garage and dealership destinations
Drop-off can be an address, a garage or a dealership, including out-of-hours key drop where the site allows it.
Van and minibus rates built in
Heavier vehicles are priced on their own scale from £120 rather than being quoted as a car and corrected later.
App booking versus a local tow firm by phone
| Factor | TowManVan app | a local tow firm by phone |
|---|---|---|
| Long-distance pricing | Tapers to £1.24 per mile | Flat per-mile rate, so long tows get punishing |
| Truck type | Matched to the vehicle at booking | Sometimes the wrong truck arrives |
| Quote accuracy | Calculated on the real route | Estimated, then revised at the kerb |
| Condition evidence | Photos at both ends inside the app | A paper sheet, if anything |
| Availability | Any accepting operator in range | Whoever answers the phone at that hour |
towing app questions
How much does it cost to tow a car in the UK?
Through the TowManVan app a local tow starts at £70 for cars up to 1,400kg, including the first three miles. A 15 mile tow is around £130, a 40 mile tow around £200, and a 200 mile tow around £400 because the per-mile rate tapers with distance.
Can the towing app tow a van?
Yes. Vans and minibuses are priced from £120, which includes the first two miles, then £4 per mile to ten miles and £3 per mile after that. The app matches a van-rated truck at booking rather than sending a car-only unit.
Will I get a flatbed or a spec lift?
It depends on the vehicle. The app uses kerb weight and body type from your registration to decide. Four-wheel-drive vehicles, EVs and anything with a seized wheel go on a flatbed, which is selected automatically.
How is the towing distance calculated?
On the driving route between your pickup point and your destination postcode, not straight-line distance. The app shows the mileage it used, so you can check it against the route you expected.
Can I tow a car that has no keys?
Yes, but tell the app at booking. Without keys the steering lock usually cannot be released, so the job needs skates and a flatbed. That adds the £65 skate fee, shown before you confirm.
Is towing more expensive at night?
Between 23:00 and 07:00 the base rate is multiplied by 1.5. The per-mile tiers are unchanged, so a long overnight tow rises far less in percentage terms than a short local one.
Own a vehicle? Take jobs through the same app
Drivers keep 90 percent of every fare in year one. No weekly subscription, no lead fees and no bidding against other operators for the same job. We are signing up drivers now, ahead of the 1st of October 2026 launch.
Apply to driveTom Hargreaves - Head of Recovery Standards
Tom spent 12 years patrolling UK motorways with the AA before joining TowManVan. He signs off every recovery price and response-time claim on this page. Questions? Email tom@towmanvan.co.uk.
Last updated 19 August 2026. Apps launch 1st of October 2026.