When choosing a tow truck, you should pay attention to the technical equipment of the carrier company.
As the magazine of an angry citizen "You Have the Right" writes, about 80 companies are engaged in car towing in Moscow. The number of private individuals with a tow truck cannot be counted: to see this, it is enough to look into any newspaper with advertisements. In addition, many car services have their own tow trucks: they do not specifically advertise towing services, but if such an opportunity arises, they will not refuse to earn some extra money.
However, the vast majority of orders still go to several large companies. Each of these firms has several dozen tow trucks at its disposal, and it is to them that the Moscow Rescue Service redirects relevant calls. Small firms, as a rule, have no more than two or three vehicles on staff, and therefore, when contacting them, there is a high probability of getting a refusal or hearing the suggestion "call tomorrow."
Despite the large number of tow trucks in Moscow, there is enough work for everyone. "On average, we receive up to 300 towing orders per day," says Alexander Trofimov, head of the development department of the Angel company.
The number of citizens' requests for tow truck services depends on the season: in summer and winter, there are significantly more transport orders than in the off-season. In summer, most calls are for "boiled over" cars, and in winter, on the contrary, for cars that refuse to start because of the cold. The second most common reason for calling a tow truck is a traffic accident.
In general, as the tow truck drivers themselves admit, the reasons for contacting them are very different. Some car owners do not know how else to solve the problem of a dead battery, others unexpectedly run out of fuel in the middle of the road, and still others have had too much to drink: they do not want to drive drunk, nor do they want to abandon their car far from home, and it is also undesirable to let a stranger behind the wheel of their car.
Prices for car towing in Moscow start from 1,200 rubles for delivering a car within the Moscow Ring Road, regardless of mileage. Theoretically, it is possible to find a cheaper tow truck - it just may turn out that in addition to the transportation rate, you will have to separately pay for loading and unloading the car.
In principle, there is a clear rule on the market: the heavier the car, the more expensive the towing will be. It is worth remembering that most companies operating in Moscow will refuse to transport cars weighing more than three tons (for example, a Hummer H2 or Ford Excursion): standard tow trucks based on "Bychok", "Gazelle" and used Mercedes are simply not designed to carry heavy vehicles.
The price of towing is affected by the time of day (at night it is more expensive, sometimes one and a half times), as well as the technical condition of the car: for each blocked (for example, due to an accident) wheel you will have to pay extra from 300 rubles - such a car is harder to pull onto the loading platform. Towing mileage outside the Moscow Ring Road is also paid additionally: from 30 rubles per kilometer (the distance is calculated one way).
At the same time, many large companies allow their customers to save on towing by buying a kind of annual "subscription". Such a club card costs from 7,000 rubles, and its owner, in addition to free towing, is guaranteed free roadside technical assistance - such as replacing spark plugs or quickly recharging the battery. Although you would have to be very unsure about the condition of your car to buy such "insurance" in advance. By the way, about insurance. Many insurance companies offer their customers free towing in the event of a breakdown or accident.
When choosing a tow truck, you should pay attention not only to the delivery price, but also to the technical equipment of the carrier company. Several points must be clarified already during the first call.
The main thing to pay attention to is the type of tow truck. There are two fundamentally different types: winch tow trucks and crane-manipulators. The former pull the car onto a cable, the latter lift it with a crane, hooked by special fixators to the wheels. The vast majority of Moscow companies use winch tow trucks. Crane-manipulators are used only in cases of severe car deformation due to an accident or if the car is not on the road (for example, on a curb or in a ditch) - in all other cases, a manipulator is no better than an ordinary winch tow truck. It should be noted that ordering a manipulator in Moscow will cost significantly more: from 4,000 rubles.
Winch tow trucks, in turn, are divided into two groups: full and partial loading. With partial loading, the towed car is placed on the platform with only one axle - the second one drives along the road itself after the tow truck. It is not recommended to carry passenger cars on such tow trucks: during transportation, the car’s bumper can be damaged on uneven road surfaces: it hangs very low.
Finally, full-loading tow trucks also come in two types: with a one-piece sliding platform or with sliding ramps - commonly called "skis". In the former, the entire platform slides down, which greatly simplifies loading cars with locked front wheels. In the latter, metal sheets are lowered from the truck for entering the tow truck platform: it is practically impossible to drive a car with wheels that are completely jammed over them.
The technical features of tow trucks should be clarified when placing an order by phone. Of course, a towing service that does not want to waste its and your time will find out what happened to the car in order to understand whether it can take it on board; but it will not be superfluous to ask yourself as well.
For example, small companies or private individuals usually use winch tow trucks with “skis”. This means that if your car’s wheels are locked, it is pointless to contact them: you will waste time trying to haul it onto the tow truck. If, however, the vehicle’s running gear is in good condition, the choice of tow truck type does not matter.