Towing

Cheap Brisbane Towing Services: Are They Too Good to Be True?

By January 21, 2022 July 27th, 2022 No Comments

If you’ve been looking around for a cheap towing service in Brisbane, you’ve probably seen prices lower than you expected. With Rudd’s Towing, you can have your car towed from Turbot St in the CBD all the way to Burpengary for less than $170.

With the cost of a Brisbane tow truck being so low, you might be wondering if its just too good to be true. The answer is that it depends on the towing service you’re using but these days, you’re in good hands with most providers.

The towing industry has seen a lot of improvement

Although no industry is perfect, the old image of tow truck drivers being dangerous or untrustworthy is mostly a thing of the past. There will always be a few that ruin it for everyone else but professional operations like Rudd’s take pride in what we do.

That means clean, well-maintained trucks driven by professional drivers who’ve been trained to know exactly what they’re doing. That means your car gets treated like it’s one of ours. The tow truck doesn’t move until everything is safe and secure on board.

The old vulture mentality has been steadily replaced by an industry of clean, professional operators. Clearly, this is a great thing for everyone involved.

Why are tow trucks so cheap then?

This comes down to two things. First off, we’re a local business that isn’t out here to price gouge our customers. Especially not when they’re in a vulnerable position after a breakdown or car accident.

The second part of this is competition. Thanks to the wealth of great information available online, it’s easy to shop around for a price before arranging a tow truck. If a provider is charging the maximum amount allowed, they’ll be far more expensive than most of the competition. Not surprisingly, any service that tries those tactics doesn’t last very long.

If you suspect something is off, know your rights

Another part of the reason the towing industry has seen so much improvement over the last decade is regulation. After growing complaints, the Department of Transport and Main Roads made a number of changes.

Our industry is heavily regulated. For example “From 16 April 2018 all private property towing in regulated areas of Queensland must be performed by accredited drivers and assistants using licensed tow trucks. “These regulations also set out maximum regulated towing fees for various types of towing.

If you’ve been involved in an accident, the maximum regulated fee you can be charged is:

  • $382.35—for the first 50km
  • $7.60—for each kilometer over 50km

To put that in context, in our Brisbane CBD to Burpengary example above, the regulations allow you to be charged a maximum of $382.35 (assuming it’s a crash towing service). That’s more than double what we charge!

Whether you’ve seen strange something or you need a tow truck now, get familiar with tow truck regulations set out on the TMR website. They’ll keep your wallet and your vehicle safe if you happen to use one of the few. . . questionable providers that still exist.

(Of course, you could always just give us a call for an immediate quote now and know you’re in safe hands — not that we’re biased!)

Don’t forget to check reviews

Another great way the Internet is helping to clean up the industry is with online reviews. Every service is going to get the occasional bad review no matter what they do. If you’re looking at a provider and they have a 2-star rating and complaints about pricing and/or service though, it’s probably best to keep looking.

Here’s a snapshot of our Google reviews at the time of writing this. It’s a pretty great indication that we’re doing something right.

Obviously, choosing a cheap towing service in Brisbane doesn’t mean taking a risk. Shop around, check reviews, know your rights and don’t be afraid to ask questions. When you consider the pride and professionalism that  goes into our work, why would you pay any more than you have to?!