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Best Roadside Service is an auto club with all calls answered in the US. Get the best service at the best price with Best Roadside Service, serving consumer and commercial needs in the US and Canada since 1985!

Most People Need To Rent A Car Eventually

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Big Red Rent a Car Neon Sign

Most people need to rent a car eventually. Whether your vehicle has a mechanical failure, you’re in an automobile accident, or it’s time for your annual family vacation, a rental car can help you get where you need to go when you cannot, or do not want to, use your own vehicle. When you approach the rental car counter, knowing whether you need to purchase the car rental company’s roadside assistance plan can save you a lot of money.

 

When you rent a car, the company you choose will offer you a variety of coverage products to protect you in the event the car is damaged. A renter is responsible for damage to the vehicle including damage that occurs as a result of an accident, as well as, damages that result from a roadside assistance emergency. While you will not be responsible for things like transmission or engine trouble unless they are caused directly by you or your negligence, you are responsible for flat tires, lost keys or lockout service, jump starts, towing, and fuel and fluid delivery. You will also be at the mercy of the rental car company and may need to wait long hours for service providers to help you.

 

Car rental companies offer coverage to offset the cost of repair in the event a renter is responsible for a roadside assistance emergency. While the cost varies by location and company it averages about $6.99 per day according to www.best-car-rental-tips.com. Each time you rent a car you would need this coverage if you do not want to be responsible out of pocket. Covering a rental car for just roadside assistance during a two-week family vacation will cost you an additional $97 plus taxes and fees.

 

Paying these extra fees is not always necessary. Your own personal roadside assistance plan may cover you when you rent a vehicle and eliminate the need to spend additional money. When you purchase a roadside assistance plan you typically have the option of purchasing a plan that either follows a specific vehicle(s) or follows a specific driver(s). Best Roadside Service offers individual plans that will follow covered drivers in any vehicle they drive including rental cars. By purchasing an individual plan, you can avoid paying the extra price every time you rent a car and instead use the savings for something else.

 

An advantage to having your own personal roadside assistance coverage, instead of relying on purchasing one through a rental car company, is that you can save money on the car rental fee itself. When you purchase a roadside assistance plan through Best Roadside Service you will receive access to VIP discounts including savings and free upgrades at nationally known rental car companies Enterprise, National, and Thrifty. Additionally, you will have access to more than 45,000 service providers and an average response time of 34 minutes.

 

Next time you rent a car make sure you’re covered by purchasing an individual roadside assistance plan first. This will save you money on the car rental fee, eliminate the need for purchasing costly daily coverage through a car rental company, and will provide you peace of mind in your own vehicle the rest of the year.

Electric Cars Need Roadside Assistance Too

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Just because your car doesn’t rely on traditional petroleum gasoline, doesn’t mean it won’t ever leave you stranded on the side of the road.

Hybrid and electric cars are becoming more and more popular in America as the technology advances, prices lower and concern for the environment increases. According to HybridCars.com, in 2013 nearly half a million hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) were purchased in the United States. The Toyota Prius still lead the pack in sales, but other car manufacturers are quickly catching up including Ford and Lexus.

‹Electric Cars need Roadside Assistance Too

Despite the growth in popularity, less than 200,000 of the total HEV sales in 2015 were for fully electric cars. The hybrid vehicle still dominates the market, with its minimal, but still existent, dependence on gasoline. Infrastructure is partly to blame for this fact. The United States still lags behind other countries in terms of electric car charging stations. Not to mention, the average American commuter is driving further each day than their European counterparts, for example, making battery life a bigger issue than it is elsewhere.

Researchers at Edmunds point out that owners of hybrid vehicles should know that “the gasoline engine in a hybrid vehicle requires the same maintenance that it would if it were the only power source driving the vehicle. That means regular tune-ups and oil changes every 5,000-10,000 miles, depending on the vehicle and driving conditions.” That also means that hybrid vehicles are susceptible to the same kind of issues, breakdowns, and vulnerabilities as a standard gas-powered car. And fully electric cars are susceptible to their own array of mechanical and technological issues that could leave you stranded by the side of the road.

This information is important for anyone who may be considering purchasing an HEV to keep in mind. Even if you plan to ditch your old gas-guzzler, don’t make the mistake of tossing out your roadside assistance plan with it. Most roadside assistance plans cover HEVs the same way they do traditional cars. Companies such as Best Roadside Service offer travelers emergency roadside help if their hybrid or electric vehicle breaks down, runs out of battery life (or gas in the case of a hybrid), needs additional fluids, gets a flat tire or many other common issues. Best Roadside Service even includes gas delivery in their membership rates, in case your battery and gas tank run out and leave you stranded.

These plans also include discounts to major national car maintenance shops such as Aamco, Jiffy Lube, Meineke and more. This is important, as Edmunds reminds us, because HEVs need the same kind of regular maintenance as a traditional car. Getting oil changes, tune ups and fluids topped off will keep your HEV investment running well, and a roadside assistance plan will help you save money maintaining your car.

All that savings on gas and maintenance may also give you the funds to take a road trip or vacation. Best Roadside Service offers its members discounts on travel including discounts to theme parks, hotels, and other attractions as well as coupons to places all over the US. And if you need help navigating, they also offer members customized map routing as well as access to a 24-hour emergency hotline you can call for turn by turn directions or roadside assistance, in case you get lost or break down.

If you’re considering purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle, you’ve probably done a lot of research and consider yourself a conscientious consumer. We recommend you do your research on roadside assistance plans as well to see what companies are offering the best services and benefits for the money. Just remember that regardless of which HEV you decide to get behind the wheel of, don’t drive it off that lot without covering yourself or your vehicle with a roadside assistance plan.

Credit Card Companies Drop Roadside Assistance Coverage

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Many people do not know that their credit card companies may provide additional services beyond loaning money for purchases.

Credit Card Companies are Dropping Member Benefits

In fact, several credit card companies offer services through third party providers for things such as identity theft, travel planning and even roadside assistance. These services are not always marketed to credit card customers very well, and J.D. Power & Associates reports that only about 2/3 of people are even aware of their benefits, and even fewer people are using their credit cards to their full advantage. For this reason, many credit card companies are dropping extra benefits from their cardholder agreements.

In August 2015, Discover issued a new cardholder agreement that stated they intend to “simplify the suite of cardmember benefits that it provides by eliminating certain benefits in order to provide a better customer experience.” What this really means is that they are eliminating benefits to save themselves money. With recent laws in effect that restrict credit card companies on the kind of late fees and interest rates they can charge, many lenders are looking at cutting cardholder benefits and other services to save money and help their bottom line.

In fact, Sears MasterCard recently dropped its rental car collision coverage, travel assistance and roadside assistance benefits, and Bank of America is discontinuing its roadside and travel assistance benefits for its MasterCard Better Balance Rewards cardholders as well. With these heavy hitters leading the pack, it’s a logical assumption that other credit card companies will be following their lead and dropping third party services for their cardholders as well. So whether or not you have one of these cards listed above, you should start looking around for another provider for these services.

Even if you do plan to continue using your credit card company’s services, keep in mind that most credit card companies still charge their cardholders a fee to use their roadside assistance and these fees can run up to $70 per call. At that price, you should consider going with Best Roadside Service’s roadside assistance plan. In fact, a year of roadside assistance with Best Roadside Service, which includes up to 6 calls per year, only costs between $65-$80 depending on the plan chosen. Additionally, Best Roadside Service offers travel assistance, travel concierge services, travel discounts, coupons, a 24-hour emergency hotline, discounts at national automotive maintenance shops and more. Your discounts from these partners might just pay for your annual membership! You don’t have to have a particular credit card to have these services and you don’t have to pay a crazy interest rate to earn them. Individual plans are less than $80/year and vehicle plans are just $65 annually.

Why Choose Best Roadside Service

Going with a company that specializes in roadside assistance is also the only way to ensure you get the best and fastest service. Credit card companies are essentially playing the middle man to their cardholders – creating an additional step and costing the customer more time when they do need help on the side of the road. Best Roadside Service, on the other hand, has an average response time of just 34 minutes. And their service providers respond to over 70,000 calls per month. In the last 50 years, Best Roadside Service has unlocked over 170,000 doors, changed over 340,000 flat tires,  towed over 6.8 million miles and delivered over 60,000 gallons of fuel!

But not all roadside assistance plans and providers are created equal. Whether you want to purchase a plan for a particular vehicle, no matter who is driving it, or a plan for an individual, no matter what vehicle they are driving – you’ll want to compare plans,  and go with a Better Business Bureau A+ rated company that has been providing roadside service for over 50 years to consumers just like you.

The bottom line is that your credit card company is more concerned with their bottom line than customer perks and benefits. Ditch the middle man,  and purchase an independent roadside assistance plan for you and your family from Best Roadside Service!  

 

Give A College Student the Gift of Roadside Assistance

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The fall semester is right around the corner and college students are headed back to their dorms or maybe off to college for the first time.

Roadside Assistance is a great gift for back-to-school college students

 

This is an exciting but scary time in both the recent high school graduate’s life as well as their parents’. For the first time, these young adults will be on their own, and many will be hundreds or even thousands of miles away from home.

If your new college student will be driving him or herself off to college, much of your anxiety may be about how safe their travels will be. Whether they’re hauling all of their stuff off to their dorm, or just driving around campus and their new town, they can run into a plethora of issues that mom and dad won’t be around to help out with. Flat tires, keys locked in the car or bigger mechanical issues can cause a student to miss class or worse – get hurt or stranded.

As stressful and scary as this time can be, there are ways to keep them safe, even if you’re far away. Best Roadside Assistance offers affordable roadside service plans for individuals that help keep them safe and on the road. Consider purchasing a plan as a gift for your graduate and send them off to college safely.

What We Offer College Students

Our service plans cover any issue they may experience. Our call center is owned and operated in the US, so when making a service call, they will always get a friendly representative who will send help immediately. In fact, our average response time is just 34 minutes.

College students are not always the most prepared or organized, so if they lock their keys in their car, we can get them out of a bind. If they run out of gas, we have them covered and can deliver up to three gallons of gas, for free, right to their vehicle. We will even replace a lost car key up to $100, in case they happen to misplace that too.

And if they’re driving a less-than-reliable vehicle, our roadside service plan can assist there too with towing services, battery jump start and even fluid delivery. In addition to these services that will keep them safe, we also provide benefits to our customers that will allow them to have some fun. Travel discounts and mapping services can help them get to their spring break destination safely and within budget.  

A Best Roadside Service plan is the perfect gift for back-to-school college students. It keeps them safe while keeping your stress level down. Send them off safely this year, and sign up today.

Why Millennials Need Roadside Assistance

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Why Millennials Need Roadside Assistance

“Millennials” is the term used for people born between 1980 to 2000. As of right now, this puts millennials anywhere from 15 to 34, but the term is generally used to describe young adults today. This group of people are just starting professional careers, moving out on their own, and becoming responsible for themselves. Things like rent, budgets, insurance and more are now not just terms heard around the dinner table, but important aspects of everyday life.

If you’re a millennial just going out on your own, it can be scary, overwhelming and expensive. Especially in tough economic times, you may worry about what happens if you get sick or if your car breaks down. You’ve probably purchased health insurance, car insurance and maybe even rental or home owners insurance in case something happens. Another way to protect yourself against unwanted expenses is to purchase roadside assistance.

Roadside assistance is an inexpensive way to ensure that you and your vehicle are always safe on the road. Breakdowns, running out of gas, locking your keys in your car – those are all inevitable things, but if you’re not prepared, they can also be expensive and budget-busting inconveniences. Roadside assistance allows you to pay a low monthly fee for assistance in these and many other situations.

What We Offer

Best Roadside Service offers plans that either cover you as an individual – no matter what car you are driving or that cover your car- no matter who is driving it. Either plan will cost less than your monthly cable bill, but is a much better investment.

Best Roadside Service has a US-owned and operated call center and our average response time is just 34 minutes, so you’ll never be stranded by the side of the road with a flat tire, dead battery or any other mechanical issue. We will also cover a replacement key up to $100 if your car key is lost or destroyed. If you run out of gas, we’ll deliver three gallons to you wherever you are for free! Any of these situations could cost you hundreds of dollars without roadside assistance.

And it’s not all serious business – in addition to our emergency roadside assistance benefits, we also offer discounts for travel and entertainment, hotels, theme parks, restaurants and more. So if you’re going on a road trip, we can provide customized mapping, turn by turn directions and savings on the fun when you get there.

We know you’re on a budget, but making roadside assistance a priority will save you money in the long run. And you can save $10 right now, just by purchasing your plan online. Make mom and dad proud and sign up for roadside assistance plan today.

 

Can You Really Trust Those Online Reviews?

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Have you ever done research for a product or service and stumbled upon an online review site? Maybe you wondered who was doing the reviewing or if companies were paying money to these Four Questions to Ask About Online Reviewsreview sites to give them good ratings? Can you REALLY believe the review site? Take it with a grain of salt! You can find good online reviews but honestly, they may not be accurate or they can be outdated. We have certainly seen some good reviews for companies that didn’t have good PR or Facebook comments when you looked elsewhere. That left us us scratching our heads. It’s hard to know who to believe or what questions to ask before buying a product or service. But if you’re researching roadside assistance companies, we encourage you to ask yourself these questions as you read through reviews and rankings.

Four Important Questions to Ask About Online Reviews

Do you really want your insurance company to know your roadside assistance needs?

Many roadside assistance companies are really car insurance companies such as AAA and Allstate. If your car insurance and roadside assistance company are the same, your insurance company will look at your roadside service calls and use that information to hike up your rates. Yes, this does happen, and yes, it can be why your rate got hiked. Your roadside assistance company should be focused solely on providing you with the best service – not with selling you insurance or finding reasons to hike up your rates. Best Roadside Service is independently owned and is not affiliated with any auto insurance company. Our singular focus is to provide our members with the best roadside assistance – day or night, 365 days a year.

Do you really want a roadside assistance company without an A+ Better Business Bureau Rating?

If you’re searching roadside assistance clubs that have an A+ rating, the field narrows quickly. Best Roadside Assistance takes pride in our stellar A+ rating. Do we ever make mistakes? Yes. Do we work our hardest to make it right? Yes! Finding good old fashioned customer service with another roadside company can be a difficult task.

Do you really want your roadside assistance through a political lobbyist or non-American organization?

AARP is a political organization that lobbies in Washington D.C for senior benefits. Their roadside assistance service is actually maintained by Allstate (and we already covered why you may not want an insurance company’s assistance). Do you really want a company who is more focused on wooing D.C. politicians than your safety and service needs?

Additionally, roadside clubs through companies like BP (British Petroleum) are not even owned and operated in America. How can you expect a company to give you the best service possible when they’re not even in the same country as you?

So, do you really want a roadside assistance company just because it has good online reviews?

After you ask yourself the last few questions, you’ll see you’ve narrowed the playing field down significantly. An American-owned and operated company that’s not affiliated with an insurance company or political organization that has a A+ BBB rating and is the most competitively priced? That’s Best Roadside Assistance! And since we don’t pay any review company for “membership” (i.e. – rankings) that may be why you haven’t seen us on some online review sites. But here are some things you may be interested to know about us.

Since 1962, we have:

  • towed over 6.8 million miles
  • unlocked over 170,000 doors
  • changed 340,000 flat tires
  • delivered over 68,000 gallons of fuel to stranded motorists
  • we did this with an average response time of ONLY 34 minutes.

Best Roadside Assistance has some of the most friendly customer service reps that are right here in the U.S. Don’t believe us? Give us a call at 855-278-4858 or contact us online right now . We have individual or vehicle coverage options as well as corporate and fleet coverage. We can help you sign up right over the phone, so call now!

Top Ten Reasons to Choose Best Roadside Service

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We know that there are many roadside assistance companies out there to choose from, so we value and appreciate the customers who choose us. We also happen to think they’ve made the best decision. Here are just ten reasons why our customers chose Best Roadside Assistance and why you should too.

Top Ten Reasons to Choose Best Roadside Service

  1. American Owned, Canada Covered
    Best Roadside Service is an American Owned and Operated company with the goal of providing our customers with the best emergency roadside assistance plans at competitive prices. Our core values have always focused on offering the best customer service standards in the industry. But Americans are not the only ones who can benefit from our services! Canada is a great place to travel and a beautiful place to live, but with such cold weather, it’s critical to have good emergency roadside service. All of our services are available in Canada for the same low price of $65 a year for one vehicle, no matter who is driving.
  2. Free Gas
    Should your covered vehicle run out of gasoline, a technician will deliver three gallons of fuel right to your vehicle at no extra charge. We will get you back on the road in no time and at no fee!
  3. Vacation and travel discounts
    Our members enjoy exclusive discount programs and special rates for vacations, cruises, car and RV rentals, even theme park tickets such as Sea World, Busch Gardens and more! Our discount program gives you a range of options for booking a room for vacation or business. And our concierge service can help you get everything straight so you can sit back and enjoy your trip.
  4. 34 minute response time
    Your safety is our priority. Our state-of-the-art software allows us, with your permission, to find your location using your cell phone, and dispatch service providers while we’re on the phone with you. We can even send you a text message confirming the arrival time of your service provider. Our average response time is just 34 minutes.
  5. American-Owned and Operated Call Center with English, Spanish and French Speakers
    All emergency calls to our 24-hour call center are answered in the United States. You will never be transferred overseas and you will never get a voicemail. We have customer service representatives available at all times who speak English, Spanish and French, so you’re never alone as long as you have Best Roadside Service!
  6. Individual and Vehicle options
    Whether you want to cover a specific vehicle no matter who is driving it, or an individual, no matter what vehicle they are driving, we’ve got coverage for you. Individual and vehicle plans also cover motorcycles and scooters. Plans start at less than $6 a month with the option to add family members at a discounted rate!

  7. Personal and Commercial Options
    Whether you have a car that is used for business or an entire fleet of vehicles for your company employees, we have a plan that will meet your needs. We have been in the emergency roadside business a long time, and we know that when you have a fleet of vehicles, one of them is bound to break down. In fact, about 20% of typical fleets experience mechanical disablement every day. To keep your business running and your customers satisfied, you need to have your employees and drivers covered for any roadside issue they may experience. Our plans provide rescue and support for your employees and your business.
  8. Map Routing and Trip Planning with 24 Hour Directional Assistance
    Going on a trip? You can’t just depend on a cell phone that could die or a GPS that may lose service. Our trip planning and map routing services provide a customized route to wherever you want to go and however you want to get there. If you ever get lost along the way, just call our roadside assistance hotline and we will give you turn-by-turn directions, no matter what time of the day or night.
  9. Motorcycle Coverage
    Whether your bike is your main method of transportation, or just one of the vehicles you or your family use, we have a plan to fit your motorcycle roadside assistance needs. Motorcycle drivers receive six service calls per year along with all the benefits of a regular vehicle plan, starting at just $65/year.
  10. Join Now and Save $10 or $15
    By now we’re sure you’re convinced that Best Roadside Service is the best emergency roadside plan you can buy, but just in case you need one more reason – if you join on our website right now you can save $10 a year on the vehicle plan or $15 a year for the individual plan.

Sign up today and join our many happy customers who enjoyed safety and security on the road and in their vehicles every day with us!

 

What a Roadside Assistance Towing Service Offers

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When you order your roadside assistance plan you may not be aware of what it entails and what is covered.  Most services include bringing gasoline (typically three gallons) when you run out, fixing your flat tire and even sending you a locksmith when you lock the keys in the car.  The most popular service and the one that is used most often are towing your car when your car is disabled.  Nobody wants to leave their car on the side of the road or freeway which is why this is such a popular service.

Why Your Car May Not Be Towed

While you may think that a roadside assistance towing service will tow your vehicle for any reason, this is not always true.  There are some times when this is not covered in your plan and the main reason would be if you were in an accident.  The only way that your vehicle will be towed is if it breaks down due to a mechanical error.  In the case of an accident, if your vehicle is unable to start or to be moved, then you have to pay for the tow.  This is standard practice for just about every roadside assistance plan because the vehicle may be totaled so it would go to the impound yard rather than the closest repair shop.

Where Can Your Vehicle be Towed To

You may want to take your vehicle home to work on it yourself or to a friend’s house if they are a mechanic but this is not covered in any assistance plan.  Depending on the terms of the contract you sign, your vehicle can only be towed to a repair shop within a certain amount of miles.  So, if you are one hundred and fifty miles from your regular repair shop and your car breaks down, you may not be able to have it repaired there.  Instead, it will be taken to a certified shop that is within your plan’s mile limitation.

While a roadside assistance towing service is a great way to stay protected if anything mechanical happens to your car, there are limitations.  You should always read the fine print as some plans only take a vehicle five miles for free.  Choose a quality plan such as Best Roadside Service who offer longer distances of up to one hundred miles.  This way, you have a better chance that your vehicle goes to the repair shop that you want rather than the closest shop to the breakdown.

The Right Towing Company Will Make a Difference

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When you find yourself broke down on the side of the road and there is no way to fix your vehicle, it’s a scary feeling. No one wants to be in this situation but it does happen to most everyone at some point. When it happens to you or a loved one, the right towing company will make a difference and this is one reason so many drivers have roadside assistance.

When you have this service with a plan that covers towing, you don’t have to worry about finding someone to move your vehicle. This is something that they will do for you. The roadside assistance company that you selected will already have a list of dependable towing companies available for the area where you’re located. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about trying to figure out whom to call.

They will also make the calls for you to find out which company is closest and which one can get there the fastest. Once you make the initial call to your representative, you can sit back, relax and wait for the tow truck to arrive.

If you’re calling someone on your own and you’re not in an area that you’re familiar with, the company you choose may not be dependable. They may take hours before showing up leaving you and your family stranded on the side of the road needlessly.

Another problem with just picking a name out of the phone book is that you may get someone who doesn’t care about your vehicle the way they should. If this happens, they could actually do more damage to it during towing, which will end up costing you more in the end.

There have been situations where the chains were hooked in the wrong place and it caused damage to the front of the towed vehicle. Drivers have even been known to not hook the vehicle securely, which resulted in the automobile coming loose and rolling into traffic where it was hit by other drivers.

The right towing companies will make a difference by taking precautions to not make a bad situation worse. They will arrive as fast as possible to get you off the road. They will know how to hook your vehicle up properly to avoid causing more damage and they will always act in a courteous and professional manner.

Some vehicles require a flat bed when towing instead of the regular tow truck. A good towing company will know what you need as soon as soon they learn what type of vehicle you drive. As a result, they won’t send out a regular wrecker to tow in an automobile that needs a flat bed. In other words, they are prepared, knowledgeable and available when you need them.

By choosing a roadside assistance plan with towing service, you can rest assured that the right towing companies will be called and you’ll get fast, professional help when you need it most.

Why You Need Roadside Assistance with Towing Services

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There are many reasons why you need roadside assistance with towing services but when you try to think of them, your mind may go blank. It’s hard to picture anything happening that would leave you stranded, especially if you take good care of your vehicles. But things do happen unexpectedly that can put you or a family member in danger. Consider the following scenario.

Your teenage daughter is all excited because she just gotten her driver’s license. She is ready to drive herself to her friend’s house, the mall and all of the other places you’ve been driving her over the years. This is great news because now you have more time and freedom to do things you want to do, or is it?

Her best friend lives off the main road in an area that you never were crazy about driving on yourself. What if she has car trouble late one night and ends up stuck out on this mostly deserted road? What if she couldn’t get the vehicle completely off the road? Someone else could come along and hit her while she’s stranded helplessly waiting for you to come rescue her. How long will it take you to get to her from your home?

Assuming that she is safe until you arrive, if there is something seriously wrong with the vehicle and you cannot get it to run good enough to drive it home, what are you going to do? How will you get it back to your home or to a garage where it can be fixed? You can’t leave it in the road.

Even if you manage to get it off the road enough that it won’t obstruct traffic, it’s the perfect target for vandals that can break windows, steal the stereo system and so forth. People have even had their tires stolen when they had to leave their vehicles sitting on the side of the road overnight. If something like this happens to your vehicle, it’s going to cost you even more to get it repaired on top of whatever caused the original problem.

So what do you do? You can call a tow truck and have your car towed home but this is going to be expensive. If you’ve ever had to call for a tow truck late at night, then you know that sometimes it can be hard to get someone to come out and you usually have to wait a long time. On top of that, it seems like the rates go up after regular business hours. You’re required to make payment right away, too in most cases.

There is a solution to this problem. When you have roadside assistance with towing services, you won’t have to worry. One phone call and there will be someone on the way to pick up the vehicle within minutes. They may even arrive before you do and already be hooking up to get both your daughter and your vehicle out of harm’s way.

The next time you’re trying to decide whether you really need roadside assistance with towing services, consider this scenario. It could be your daughter, son or even you stranded somewhere and if you have this type of protection, you won’t have to worry. Help is on the way within minutes.