Towing Service
A towing service should tell you three things before it moves your car: what it costs, what truck is coming, and who's driving it. TowManVan fixes the price in the app before dispatch, matches the truck to your vehicle rather than to whatever's free, and every driver is DBS-checked and insured to carry it. Cars from £70.
Three ways a car gets towed, and when each is right
"Towing service" covers three quite different jobs. Sending the wrong one wastes a callout, and in some cases risks damaging the car, which is why the app asks about your vehicle before quoting.
You don't need to work out which one you need. Answer whether the car rolls, goes into neutral and releases its handbrake, and the right truck is matched automatically.
Electric cars and 4x4s: why the truck type matters more than ever
On a conventional front-wheel-drive petrol or diesel car, lifting the front wheels clear and towing on the rears is mechanically harmless for a short local journey, which is why wheel-lift trucks have been the default for decades. Electric vehicles broke that assumption. On most EVs the motors are permanently coupled to the driven wheels, so any wheel that turns spins a motor, and a spinning motor generates current the car isn't expecting to receive while switched off. Manufacturers overwhelmingly specify flat-deck transport as a result, and towing an EV on its wheels can cause drivetrain or battery-system damage that dwarfs the cost of the tow itself.
All-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive cars have a related but different problem: with all four wheels mechanically linked, towing two of them while the others sit still puts the centre differential or transfer case under load it was never designed to take at road speed. Some manufacturers permit short wheel-lift tows with the transfer case in neutral, but the specifics vary by model and getting it wrong is expensive, so a flatbed is the sensible default.
Low-slung cars, classics with fragile bodywork, and anything with accident damage to the suspension or wheels fall into the same category. TowManVan flags EV and 4x4 vehicles at booking and dispatches a flatbed as standard rather than charging it as a premium upgrade - the correct truck should be the default, not an add-on you have to know to ask for.
What a tow costs
| Vehicle | Base price | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Car (under 1300kg) | £70 | First 3 miles included |
| Car (1300kg-1600kg) | £75 | First 3 miles included |
| Car (over 1600kg) | £85 | First 3 miles included |
| Van / minibus | £120 | First 3 miles included |
Beyond the first 3 miles a per-mile rate applies, shown in full in the app before you confirm. Three extras can apply on top, all of them visible upfront rather than appearing once the truck arrives.
| Extra charge | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Skates (flat fee) | £65 | The vehicle won't roll - wheel damage, stuck in gear, or a handbrake that won't release. Covers 2 or 4 skates. |
| Congestion zone | +£25 | Pickup or drop-off falls inside a congestion charging zone. |
| Night rate | 1.5x | Booked between 23:00 and 07:00. |
No membership and no annual fee - you pay for the tow you book. For a fuller breakdown of how distance affects the total, see car recovery prices.
How to tell a good towing company from a bad one
Most people book a tow once every few years, usually in a hurry, which is exactly when it's hardest to judge who you're dealing with. These four checks take seconds and rule out most problems.
| What to check | Good sign | Walk away |
|---|---|---|
| Insured to carry your vehicle | Motor trade or hire-and-reward cover, verified before they can take work | Vague answers, or only their own vehicle insurance mentioned |
| Price agreed before they set off | Full figure including extras, locked in writing before dispatch | "We'll see when we get there" or a price that moves on arrival |
| Right truck for your vehicle | Asks whether it rolls, goes into neutral, and if it's an EV or 4x4 | Sends whatever is free without asking about the vehicle at all |
| Traceable and accountable | Named driver, tracked job, receipt, and someone to complain to | Cash-only, unmarked truck, no paperwork |
The insurance point is the one people skip. A driver carrying your car needs cover for carrying someone else's vehicle, which is not the same as insuring their own truck to be on the road.
Booking a tow
Car won't start but doesn't need moving? A jump start may be all it needs. Broken down on a motorway? See motorway recovery for the safety steps first. Need it today but it's not urgent? Try same-day recovery.
Towing across the UK's biggest cities
Coverage is nationwide, with the fastest average response in these ten cities where driver density is highest.
Towing service FAQs
Need a tow?
Fixed price in 60 seconds, the right truck matched to your vehicle, DBS-checked driver. No membership required.
Get a fixed priceTom Hargreaves - Head of Recovery Standards
Tom spent 12 years patrolling UK motorways with the AA before joining TowManVan. He signs off every towing price, equipment recommendation and safety claim on this page. Questions? Email tom@towmanvan.co.uk. All figures reviewed August 2026.
Last updated August 2026. Prices verified August 2026 by Tom Hargreaves.