Tip #56: Ask about storage before you choose where the car goes
Storage is usually charged by the day, so where the car goes matters as much as the tow itself. Before you pick a destination, ask whether it charges to hold a car and when the clock starts.
Tip #56 in one line
Storage is usually charged by the day, so where the car goes matters as much as the tow itself. Before you pick a destination, ask whether it charges to hold a car and when the clock starts.
Stuck right now? Skip the reading and call.
Call nowWhere storage charges come from
If a disabled car goes to a tow company's yard, the yard usually bills storage for each day it sits there. A car that waits for an insurance adjuster or a decision about repairs can run up a storage bill that grows while nobody is looking at it. Some body shops and dealers also charge to hold a car they are not yet repairing, especially if they are short on space.
Storage is a legitimate charge for space and security. The problem is not that it exists; it is that drivers often do not know it is running.
Storage can also be the reason a cheap tow becomes an expensive one. A tow to a nearby yard may cost little, but if the car sits there for a week while you wait for an adjuster, the storage can end up costing more than the tow did. That is why the destination is a pricing decision, not just a convenience.
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Call nowQuestions to ask before you name a destination
**Will this place charge to hold the car?** Call the shop or dealer and ask.
**When does the clock start?** On drop-off, after a set number of days, or only after an estimate is approved?
**Will my insurer pay for it, and for how long?** Many policies limit how many days of storage they cover. Your adjuster can tell you.
**Can the car go straight to the repair shop?** That often avoids storage and a second tow later.
One call, one flat quote, 24/7.
Call nowYou choose the destination with us
We take the car where you tell us: your shop, a dealer, your driveway or a body shop your insurer recommends. We do not run a storage yard and we do not steer cars to one, so there is no storage line on our bill. After a crash, that is the whole point of calling your own accident tow rather than waiting for one.
If you are not sure yet where the car should go, it is usually cheaper to have it delivered to your driveway and decide in the morning than to leave it somewhere that bills by the day. The dispatcher at (908) 444-0129 will quote both options. More on choosing a drop is in our accident towing guide.
One call, one flat quote, 24/7.
Call nowMore on towing rules & pricing
Keep reading, or go back to every post on the blog.
- Flatbed vs wheel-lift towing: which does your car need?
- What happens to your car after a police-ordered tow in New Jersey
- Towed from private property in New Jersey: your rights
- Towing pricing red flags in New Jersey
- Local tow company vs national roadside network: who actually shows up?
- Moving a car long distance from New Jersey: towing vs car carrier
- Tip #34: Choose the destination before the truck arrives: home, shop or dealer
- Tip #35: Ask the destination about storage charges before you pick it
- All posts
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