Sometimes Paying a Tow Service Charge Saves you Money

When you get into an accident, you know that the repairs are going to be expensive. And you may have an emergency fund, but you don’t necessarily want to use it on a tow service. Depending on the damage, you may think that it’ll be easy to just drive your car home or directly to your trusted repair shop. However, there are times when you could technically still drive your car, but shouldn’t. This can cost you way more in repairs than a $75-$100 tow service charge. Towing your vehicle could potentially save you hundreds of dollars in repairs.

Since you know your vehicle best, you need to rely on your senses and knowledge of how your vehicle performs to decide if it’s safe to drive or not. Besides how it normally performs, being in tune with smells, loud or unusual noises and looking out for any smoke or leaking fluids are good indicators of whether or not it’s safe to drive or if it needs a tow. Here is a list of warning signs to look our for:

• Overheating or a sudden drop on the gauge
• Check engine light is on
• Oil level or oil pressure light is on
• Smoke coming out from under the hood or out the tailpipe
• A burning smell
• Smell of fuel whether or not the engine is running
• Grinding brakes when applied or just while driving
• A rotating noise that gets louder as you increase speed
• Knocking, whirring or screeching coming from under the hood
• Stalling, misfiring or running poorly/no power when accelerating
• Any sudden loss of fluid like coolant, oil, brake fluid or power steering fluid

This may all seem like obvious things to look out for, whether or not you just got into an auto accident. However, it can be easy to overlook some of these issues when you’re looking to save some cash. We get it. But consider how much more damage you could incur while riding it just a few extra miles to get it down the road. Sometimes, calling a tow service is your best and cheapest option. Don’t risk it! For the love of your car.