Breakdown Recovery Prices: What Vehicle Recovery Actually Costs
Every figure we publish is a starting price, confirmed on the phone before a truck is dispatched, with nothing added for nights or weekends.
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Get somewhere safe, then call. We confirm a fixed price on the phone before a truck is dispatched, so you know the cost before you commit.
Tap to call, 24/7 07960 200 253WhatsApp UsPrice is almost always the first question, and it is usually asked from the side of a road by someone who has no idea whether the answer will be reasonable or ruinous. It often gets answered badly: a vague range, a promise to confirm later, or a figure that grows once the truck arrives. We publish our prices on this page instead, in full, so you can see what a job is likely to cost before you dial. The table below is the same set of figures our controllers work from, and it is the only price list we use.
Every figure is a starting price, and we say so plainly rather than hiding it in small print. What a recovery actually costs depends on things nobody can know until you describe the job: how far the vehicle has to travel, how big and how heavy it is, whether it is loaded, whether it will roll onto a truck or has to be winched, and what equipment the job needs. Those variables are real, and pretending otherwise would only mean a different number on arrival. What we can promise is that the number is settled with you on the phone, before anything is dispatched.
There is also no surcharge for nights, weekends or bank holidays. A flat tyre at three in the morning on a Sunday is priced exactly the same as one at three in the afternoon on a Tuesday, which is worth stating plainly because charging a premium for unsocial hours is common practice. We operate 24/7 across the UK motorway network and the roads that feed it, with typical response times of 30 to 60 minutes depending on where you are and what the traffic is doing. Call 07960 200 253 and you will have a confirmed price in the time it takes to describe the vehicle.
Our Published Prices
Every figure below is a starting price, confirmed on the phone before we set off. There is no surcharge for nights, weekends or bank holidays.
| Service | Price | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Battery jump start | From £100 | Includes a check that the battery is holding charge |
| Emergency fuel delivery | From £95 + fuel | The fuel itself is charged on top at cost |
| Vehicle towing | From £150 | To a destination of your choice |
| Mobile tyre change | From £190 | Common sizes carried, rare sizes quoted separately |
| Empty van recovery | From £190 | Transit-sized and smaller, up to 3.5t |
| Commercial tyre fitting | From £250 | Van, caravan, minibus and HGV tyres |
| Accident recovery | From £250 | Winch recovery and transport for damaged vehicles |
| Loaded van recovery | From £300 | Includes a load security assessment |
| 4 wheel lock recovery | From £350 | Specialist flatbed loading to protect the drivetrain |
HGV recovery is quoted individually, because the equipment required varies far more than it does for a car or van. Tolls are charged at cost where they apply.
Every price is a starting figure
The prices in the table are where a job starts, not a cap. A short recovery of a small car sits at the bottom of a band. A long motorway tow of a heavy, loaded vehicle sits above it. We tell you which before you commit.
Confirmed before dispatch, not on arrival
You get the figure on the phone, before a truck leaves. It does not move on arrival unless the job is genuinely different from what was described: a vehicle that will not roll when we were told it would, or a second casualty vehicle nobody mentioned.
No night, weekend or bank holiday surcharge
Our rates do not change with the clock or the calendar. Three in the morning on Boxing Day costs what a Tuesday lunchtime costs. Premium pricing for unsocial hours is common in the trade, so it is worth asking anyone you call.
The call-out is inside the price
The figure covers the call-out, the driver's time and the recovery itself. There is no separate attendance fee bolted on afterwards and no admin charge on the invoice. Where something genuinely is extra, such as the fuel on a fuel delivery, it is named on the phone.
Heavier vehicles cost more, and here is why
Weight and size decide the equipment. A car goes on a standard flatbed. A loaded van, a caravan or a minibus needs more lifting capacity and often a bigger truck, which is why van and commercial figures start higher. The same logic sets the gap between a car tyre change and commercial fitting.
HGV work is quoted individually
We do not publish a from price for HGV recovery because there is no honest one. A rigid on a hard shoulder, an artic with a full trailer and a vehicle that has left the carriageway need different equipment. We quote each on its own facts.
What Actually Moves the Price
Four things move a job above its starting figure, and none of them are mysterious. Distance matters most: recovering a car a few miles to a local garage and towing it across two counties are different jobs, even though the truck is the same. Size and weight come next, because they decide which truck can take the job and what equipment comes with it.
Whether the vehicle is loaded is a genuine difference, not a technicality. An empty van and one carrying a full day of stock are not the same weight, and the loaded figure exists because the job needs a different truck. The same applies to a caravan with a full water tank.
Finally, there is the state of the vehicle itself. A car that rolls freely goes onto a flatbed in minutes. One with seized brakes, a snapped driveshaft, all four wheels locked, or sitting off the carriageway needs skates, a winch, or both, and that is skilled work with specific equipment. It is why four wheel lock recovery sits at the top of the published list rather than alongside a straightforward tow.
What Is Included, and What Is Genuinely Extra
The quoted figure covers the call-out, the driver's time on site and the recovery or repair itself. There is no separate attendance charge, no mileage fee revealed at the end, and no administration line on the invoice. If a job takes longer at the roadside than expected, that is our problem to price correctly, not something we pass on.
A few things genuinely sit outside the quoted figure, and we would rather name them here. On a fuel delivery, the fuel itself is charged on top, which is why the table reads from £95 plus the cost of the fuel rather than as one number. Where a route involves a toll crossing, that is passed on at cost. On a tyre job, an unusual size, a run-flat, or a locking wheel nut with no key can add time or cost, and that is flagged on the phone before the van sets off.
Why the Price Is Agreed Before the Truck Moves
The order matters. You describe the job, the controller prices it, you agree, and only then does a truck get dispatched. Doing it the other way round, sending a driver first and settling the money once you have no alternative, puts every scrap of leverage on the wrong side. Nobody standing on a hard shoulder in the rain is in a position to negotiate.
The agreed price then holds. The only thing that changes it is the job being materially different from the description: the car said to roll has all four wheels locked solid, the vehicle is over the barrier rather than on the hard shoulder, or there is a second vehicle to move. In those cases the driver stops, explains what has changed and why, and you decide before any further work happens. That is a genuine difference in the work, not a fee from nowhere.
Why HGV Recovery Is Priced Individually
Heavy goods work is the one part of the list with no from figure, and that is deliberate: the range of jobs is too wide for a starting price to mean anything useful. A rigid needing a jump start in a services car park, an artic with a laden trailer stuck in a live lane, and a lorry on a soft verge needing a heavy underlift and a winch are not variations on one job. They need different vehicles, different crews and sometimes a lane closure arranged with National Highways.
So we quote HGV work on its own facts, on the phone, once we know the vehicle, the load, where it is and what has happened. A low starting number almost no real job would land on would look competitive and tell you nothing. Fleet operators are welcome to call before they need us.
How to Get an Accurate Price in One Phone Call
Safety first, because it costs nothing and matters more than the price. If you are on a motorway, get everyone out of the nearside doors, behind the barrier and up the bank, away from the carriageway. If anyone is injured, or a vehicle is stopped in a live lane, call 999 before you call us.
Then, four pieces of information get you a firm figure quickly. Where you are: the motorway and direction, the nearest marker post or junction, or a postcode on any other road. What the vehicle is: make, model, and whether a van is loaded. What happened: a flat tyre, a dead battery, wrong fuel, a lockout, an accident, or an engine that has stopped. And whether it still rolls, which is the question that most changes the equipment we send.
Also say where you want the vehicle taken, because that sets the distance and therefore most of the price. With those answers the controller can price the job while you are on the line, and a truck can be moving as soon as you agree. Typical arrival is 30 to 60 minutes, depending on where you are and the traffic.
Breakdown Recovery Prices: What Vehicle Recovery Actually Costs: FAQ
How much does it cost to recover a car in the UK?
Why is every price a from price?
Can the price change after the driver arrives?
Do you charge more at night, at weekends or on bank holidays?
Is the call-out fee separate from the recovery price?
Why is there no price listed for HGV recovery?
How do I get an accurate quote as quickly as possible?
Broken Down Right Now?
Call and we will confirm the price before a driver is dispatched. No membership, no waiting period.
07960 200 253