Best towing experiences and recommendations

Hey all, I've seen several threads about awful towing experiences out here but I couldn't find a thread for good towing experiences or recommendations. So, I thought I'd start a thread after what happened to me today.

First, I'll cut to the chase. If you've got a low custom or a very difficult car to tow and you are in a bind in the Austin, TX area, without a doubt give my man Tango at Customz Wrecker Services a call (512) 433-0212. It's not his shop but just ask for him personally. Here's why:

The 3rd mechanical fuel pump on my Caddy went out today (cheap Chinese piece of shit but don't get me started) on southbound Mo-Pac and I was dead in the water on the side of the highway. Cops came, loved the car and were extremely nice, but they said I needed to get it off the highway ASAP so there was no way I could take the time to fix it on the side of the road. I called Hagerty, they asked on the phone if my car had been lowered (it has 3 inch drop springs) and how much ground clearance I had (not much - maybe 4 inches). Props to Hagerty for thinking ahead. They called around and sent Tango over to me. In about 15 minutes, he pulled up. He got out of his truck, came up to me and the first thing he said was "Hey Marc, I'm Tango, and I am going to take care of you. Everything is going to be alright." I just smiled as my blood pressure came down.

Tango proceeded to maneuver his rig like a friggen ballet dancer, got everything all lined up and started to winch the car up onto the flatbed. When the rear bumper got about 1 inch from the pavement, he stopped, grabbed the wooden skids they use to move cars with locked wheels, flipped them over into mini ramps and put them under the rear wheels to give it just enough lift to clear the rear bumper and up on the flatbed she went. I said "Man, that was cool" and he just smiled and said "Yeah, trust me - we've done this a time or two."

I rode with him and his lovely wife, Tanya, back to my house. The whole time, Tango told me how he'd been towing for years and how he hates that most guys in the industry forget that it says Wrecker *Service* on the side of the truck - it's a *service* industry and it's all about taking care of the customer. At one point, he called himself a "towing artist" and I didn't question it for a minute - he absolutely is.

We got back to my place and he proceeded to strategize and analyze the best possible way to let the car down on my street - and then, we were down without an issue. He packed everything up and thanked me for the business - I tipped him well and he was on his way.

Now... on to replace that fuel pump with a nice Carter electric one so I never have to go through this again!

 

One day at a cruise, the floats on my tri-power stuck and the engine filled with gas. I pulled the plugs but one snapped off. I had Hagerty so I called for a tow. The tow truck driver was cool (Frank Scottos Tow) but it took 3 hours. I asked him why it took so long. He said, "The police come first, AAA second and everyone else after that". I got the Premier AAA service now.

 

Funny. Mr. Tango and his cronies at Customz Wrecker Services just ripped me off for $200. Last night, they towed my car from my friend's apartment complex because it was allegedly parked in two spaces. I have three witnesses that say otherwise. They had no photos to evidence the "violation", no signs were posted, and there were plenty of open spaces on both sides of my car. I called the cops, but they said it was a civil matter and I'll have to go to court to recover my money. I pay taxes. I don't break the law. And I don't park in two spaces. I'm sure some of you wouldn't bat an eye at $200, but that's a lot of money to me: groceries for a month. Thanks for stealing my car and extorting me, Tango. On the bright side, I'm sure he used the utmost care when he loaded my car onto the truck. Yeah right. Judging by the way the other criminal unloaded the car off his truck while I waited for my vaseline job, I shutter to think what happened to mine.

 

OK, call this mis- read or hijack or whatever, but stabiliser bars are good on trailers. OK, I'm done with my 2c.

 

Here's my towing experience after my first 100 miles, thanks to the great people of Okla., they towed me to an O'reilly's.

 

had a very similar experience to Headhunters, except the car was a '58 cadillac with a blown rear, the car wasn't lowered but had a dive platform on the back [continental kit] . tow truck driver did an amazing job of getting it on and off without a scratch.