Guys, need your insight and advice.

What is a reasonable or normal charge for a wrecker pulling a car out of a ditch and towing it back to their lot?

Details

Time: 8:00 pm
Distance: 13 miles (26 round trip)
Recovery: Took 5-10 minutes, simple single cable line to pull car out of ditch and onto flat bed wrecker.
Charge: Company says using standard state rotation: $350 for wrecker charge.
Storage on site: $30 per day but he's willing to work with me on that.

So today I'm at $350 + $120 storage.. Is this typical or reasonable charge? I really don't have any clue, never had to use a wrecker other than a simple tow due to a breakdown on interstate once.

It varies with the type of wreckers that they use and the size of the vehicle being towed.

With that being said, around here (I am in Georgia) it's typically 120 - 175 for an impound tow and 10 - 20 per day for storage.

The companies I have contact with are on a weekly rotation with the various police departments, sheriff's office, and the state patrol, so I'm not sure if that may keep their rates lower to make it on the state/county lists or not; but $350 seems quite high to me.

I get $2 a mile plus $35 hook ( minimum $85)for standard light towing $25 a day storage
$3.50 a mile $175 hook ( minimum $225)and $25 a day storage for a standard heavy tow
Recovery is $100 and hour and up per truck involved as sometimes it takes more than 1

They will take the title to your car in most cases if u dont want to pay the bill

Dayum!
If that's a typical towing game and storage charge, I'm fixing to buy a wrecker truck.

Sounds awful high to me unless there was more to the ditch deal.

I had a tow, but not out of a ditch. 65$ hookup and 4$/mile. Costed 100$ to go 10 miles to dealership

Last year my son rear-ended an F250 in his 06 Saturn Vue. Totaled his car. Towed the car 4 miles to the body shop. Bill was $125 and $ 20-day storage.

Sounds about right to me.

Little high on the towing but that's about what storage fees run.

Supply and demand. You needed his services.

About 5 years ago my transmission in my 250 4wd decided to purge itself out around Columbiana. Called AAA told them what i had so there was no undersized recovery truck sent to tow me home. They sent a pretty good size 4 door International out for the tow. From Columbiana to Graysville there was no cost on my end due to AAA. Asked the driver out of curiosity what the charge would've been if i had to pay out of pocket,he quoted $400. That's v roughly a 45 mile trip one way. I'll keep paying my $80 a year for AAA

Straycat, $350 is a bit on the high end. Some companies around the Hoover area will charge based on the task at hand. Light duty, medium duty, or the heavy duty trucks will charge different amounts. These guys are commissioned and will quote you the highest amount initially, but they can most certainly be talked down. I deal with them daily.

This is what I was thinking. I think the word “ditch” was the key here. Much easier for anyone to tow when it’s in the side of the road.

Im not bashing bout honestly a lot of places wanna charge “recovery” rates when they don’t really apply, recovery to me means multiple hooks, multiple trucks or time consuming situations. A car in the ditch is usually a single hook an go.

Around here, pulling out of the ditch would be $75. Don't know what the mileage charge would be and the storage is $30 a day. Like others said, the towing fee is high but the storage sounds about right.

In Scottsboro the tow would be 1/2 or a little less , but the storage would be bout the same.

Check with your insurance company, you might have tow insurance.

We pay 3.50 a mile plus 65 hook.

I just call Brandon.