"How much for a tow?" should have a boring answer. When it doesn't — when the price moves between the phone call and the drop-off — that's where drivers get burned. Here's how honest pricing is built, using our own Odessa rates as the example.
The three parts of every tow bill
- Hook-up + first miles. Our sedan rate starts at $55, which covers dispatch, the hook-up and the first stretch of the trip.
- Vehicle class. Bikes start at $25, SUVs and crossovers at $69, vans and buses at $75 per hour. Bigger vehicles need bigger trucks and more rigging time.
- Distance and difficulty. Long hauls, winch-outs from ditches and accident scenes with debris add labor. These should be named and priced before the truck moves.
What's fair after hours?
Nights, weekends and holidays cost more to staff — a modest after-hours supplement is legitimate. What isn't: a "night rate" that triples the quote, storage fees you never agreed to, or a per-mile figure that appears for the first time at the drop-off.
Three questions that expose junk fees
- "What is my total, all-in, to reach my address?" — get the number, not the formula.
- "Does that include mileage, tax and any after-hours charge?" — make them say yes.
- "Will you text that quote to me?" — written beats remembered, every time.
Our rule is simple: the price agreed on the phone is the price on the invoice. Monthly Assist members ($79/month) and Annual Support members ($529/year) skip the per-incident math entirely.
