Cheap towing in Newark, NJ: the questions, answered the way the dispatcher answers them

Book it yourself online for a $129 booking fee instead of $149, name a shop close to where the car is so the mileage stays short, and tell the dispatcher exactly what happened; if it is a battery, a tire or a lockout, that job is one flat price and cheaper than any tow, and we send it instead.

A flat $149 booking fee for dispatch and hook-up ($129 online), plus a per-mile rate to the destination you choose, quoted on the call before the truck moves. Winching or dollies are added only when the car will not roll or steer and only after you have been told. Full breakdown on the prices page.

It is the number the driver charges. The booking fee is fixed and the mileage was quoted on the call. The only way the total moves is if the driver finds something the call did not describe, such as a car locked with the wheels turned that needs dollies, and he names that number before he does the work. You decide.

No. We staff nights on purpose, so there is nobody to pull out of bed and no reason to charge for it. The 3 a.m. price on New Year's Day is the Tuesday afternoon price.

Typing the pickup, the destination and what you drive into the booking page saves the dispatcher's time on the call, and you keep the $20. If you are on a shoulder right now, call (908) 666-3168 anyway; the phone is faster, and fast matters more than $20 on a live road.

Yes, and for a front-wheel-drive car that rolls and steers it is the right truck. All-wheel-drive, electric, lowered and crash-damaged cars need a flatbed, and dragging one on a wheel-lift to save money costs a driveshaft. The dispatcher asks what you drive and sends the cheapest truck that will not damage it.

Only if you ask us to. Tows go to your mechanic, body shop, dealer or driveway, and there is no storage or release fee on a car delivered to your destination. Storage yards are where cheap tows become expensive ones, so we simply do not use them.

Usually. Most "my car won't start" calls from Newark lots and driveways are dead batteries, and a jump is one flat price with no mileage. A flat tire with a usable spare is the same. If the fix does not hold, the tow is added at the flat rate with no second callout fee because the truck is already there.

No. Anyone can call and pay the quoted price. If you have a plan or a policy that covers towing, pay us, take the itemized receipt and submit it; at night that is almost always faster than waiting for the plan to find a contractor, and the reimbursement makes it the cheapest tow of all.

The yard is in Linden, about fifteen minutes from the South Ward, and a truck is usually already working the airport, the Ironbound or Frelinghuysen when you call. The dispatcher quotes a real window from the nearest truck's position. Near is also what keeps it cheap: there is no long drive built into the price.

Yes. Tell dispatch the lot (P1, P3, P4, P6, economy, employee, cell-phone) and the row, and whether you are at the car or still at the terminal. Most airport calls are dead batteries after a trip, and a jump start is the cheaper job, so we try that first.

On the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway the shoulder itself is served by the Turnpike Authority's authorized garages; book with us anyway, and once the authorized truck has the car off the highway we take it from the exit or the garage's lot to the shop or driveway you choose, at the same flat quoted price. Booking the second leg with us before the first one ends is what keeps the car from sitting in the garage's lot overnight. Routes 1 & 9, I-78, I-280, Route 21 and every Newark street are a direct dispatch at the flat rate.

A real one. The number on this page rings our own dispatcher, who can see where our trucks are. A brokered call has two companies to pay, which is one reason brokered tows cost more; ours has one.

A license, insurance, photos of the car before and after, and a receipt with the company's name on it. Ours have all four. A truck working off a phone number with none of them is not cheap once something gets scratched.

Not usually. The driver uses skates or a wheel-lift to walk the car out of its space and then loads it; that is one of the most common Newark jobs and is normally covered by the booking fee. Tell dispatch which side of the street you are on so the truck approaches correctly.

The driver meets you at the entrance, brings the car out with dollies or a wheel-lift and loads it on the street. If dolly work is needed it is quoted on the call, not discovered at the curb. Tell dispatch the deck and the level.

Yes. One or two passengers ride in the cab at no charge. If you have more people, tell the dispatcher and we will help you plan; nobody is left on a shoulder.

Yes, on a flatbed with a front-wheel chock and soft straps, never a sling, at the same booking fee plus mileage. Sport bikes, cruisers and scooters, from a Route 21 shoulder or a garage where the bike sat all winter.

Elizabeth, Hillside, Kearny, East Orange, Irvington, Belleville, Harrison or Bloomfield is a normal local tow: the $149 booking fee plus mileage, quoted on the call. Longer runs to the shore or across a state line are quoted the same way with tolls included, on one flatbed for one price.

Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, Apple Pay, Google Pay and cash, on site, at any hour, all at the same price. Fleet accounts get net terms and one monthly invoice.

Yes. Book online and the booking fee is $129. Put in the pickup, the destination, what you drive and when you want the truck. If the car is on a live road right now, calling is still faster.

Yes. Flatbed and wheel-lift drivers, owner-operators with their own trucks, and roadside providers. Openings, pay and how to apply are on the driver jobs page.