Going toe to toe with the tower

Even the best-maintained car sometimes rolls over dead or the most cautious driver ends up in a crash, meaning it’s time to call a wrecker.

In many cases, you will get a fair price, professional conduct and competent service towing your car. Then again, you may have a counterculture experience you will not soon forget, compounding your terrible day.

On both a local and national level, the towing industry is being targeted for blatantly illegal practices, including predatory towing. But alleged criminal behavior aside, there is no guarantee that you will pay a fair price or that you will end up happy.

“We get a lot of consumer complaints about towing services,” said Pete Moraga, a spokesman at the Insurance Information Network of California. “The consumer should know in advance all the specific charges for the tow. Sometimes the towing companies will promise one price, but when they arrive on the scene there are added charges. By then, the car is a hostage.”

The first thing to know is that there are no standard charges when it comes to towing. I spent a few hours calling tow companies for prices, based on a fictitious 25-mile tow from downtown Los Angeles. The quotes ranged from $115 to $225.

I found some companies listed in the phone book under one name that answered the phone under a different name. One company quoted a price and then increased it by $20 by the end of the conversation; another company dropped its price by $15 over the course of the call. One towing dispatcher said she couldn’t help me and hung up. Phone etiquette is not every towing company’s strong suit.

What you probably don’t want to do is get hooked up by a truck that just happens to find you. Moraga recalls that after an accident in Los Angeles, three trucks were circling him within minutes. Such scenes can lead to undue pressure from tow drivers and hasty decisions by the customer.

“They were there before the police,” he said.

In Southern California, tow trucks charge a hookup fee plus mileage. Hookup fees range from $15 to $45, and per-mile charges range from $3 to $9. So, it pays to shop, if you have the time, the patience and the mental stability for such a task after an accident or a breakdown.

Towing charges often vary depending upon how busy the companies are at a particular hour of the day, how much traffic congestion they think they will encounter on the road and other factors. If you can wait until an off-peak time, such as the evening, you might get a better price.

One way out of this uncertainty is to have towing coverage, either through your car insurance or the Automobile Club of Southern California. But that is no guarantee that you will not be hit with unexpected charges.

In general, it is risky to tow a car to an unknown garage. Although you may pay more for the towing, you should try to get it to a garage that you know and trust, even if it means spending an extra $100.

Some insurers will provide a free tow only to the nearest dealership garage, as determined by the tow truck driver. If you want the car towed to your own mechanic, you will have to pay any calculated overage.

Under its basic membership, the auto club will provide free standard towing service for up to seven miles, after which the member pays the overage. That charge is left up to the truck operator, which could end up really costing the club member.

Jeff Spring, an auto club spokesman, said the majority of tows provided by the club do fall within the seven-mile limit. The club has contracts with 375 towing companies. They honor some of those towers for meeting or exceeding auto club standards.

The National Assn. of the Towing and Recovery Industry is trying to raise standards through training and certification programs, according to Harriet Cooley, the group’s executive director. The industry ought to be doing something to help, because in most states, including California, it is unregulated.

Cooley said that, nationally, the average tow charge is about $50, obviously a lot less than what you are likely to pay in Southern California. Cooley says tow drivers don’t get rich on their business and running a tow service isn’t cheap, given the rising cost of insurance, fuel and equipment. A standard tow truck costs about $50,000.

“We have tried to get rid of the term ‘wrecker,’ because it portrays a bad image,” Cooley said. “Towers want to be professional.”

And a lot of their customers hope for the same.

Ralph Vartabedian can be reached at ralph.vartabedian@

latimes.com.