Moving a non-running vehicle from your home to a repair shop

Call the repair shop before you call the tow company. A vehicle that will not run is a routine flatbed job — we load non-running vehicles constantly. What goes wrong is at the other end: a shop that cannot take it today, or is closed when the truck arrives, or wanted it left somewhere specific.

Get the destination settled first and the rest is straightforward.

What to ask the shop

Four questions, two minutes:

1. “Can you take a vehicle that does not run, and when?” Shops fill up. A busy independent may be a week out, and a vehicle that cannot be moved under its own power takes up space the whole time. Some will tell you to wait until they have a bay.
2. “Where do you want it left?” Front lot, side lot, round the back by the service door. Shops have strong preferences and a driver who guesses wrong creates a problem for everyone.
3. “What do I do with the key?” Most have a drop box. Ask where it is and whether they want anything written on the envelope.
4. “Can it arrive outside your opening hours?” Some are happy with an after-hours drop; some will not accept a vehicle they cannot check in.

Write the answers down. You will be repeating them to us.

Getting it out of where it is sitting

A vehicle that has been parked for a while has usually settled into somewhere awkward. Walk out and look at it properly.

In a driveway. The simplest case. Make sure other vehicles are moved — a flatbed needs room to back in and space behind it to tilt the deck to the ground.

In a garage. Doable, but say so when you book. The question is whether the vehicle can be rolled or winched out to where the deck can reach it, and whether anything overhead is in the way.

On grass or dirt. Fine when dry. After Oklahoma rain, soft ground is a genuine factor for a loaded truck. Mention it.

On the street. Usually easiest of all, as long as the vehicles in front and behind leave working room.

Behind other vehicles, or in a back yard. Needs describing in detail on the phone. It is not a refusal — it just changes what the job takes, and access is one of the things that moves a quote.

Does it roll, steer and come out of park?

Three questions with real consequences, and it is worth going out and checking rather than assuming.

• Rolling. Flat tires from sitting, or brakes seized from months of not moving, both mean the wheels will not simply turn.
• Steering. With the key in and turned to accessory, the steering lock should release. If the column is locked, the vehicle cannot be guided as it loads.
• Out of park. An automatic with a dead battery frequently will not leave park, because the shift interlock needs power.

All three are normal and all three are handled. They just need to be known in advance.

The key

Even a car that will not start usually needs its key present — to unlock the steering and release the transmission. And the shop needs a key to work on it.

Decide whether the key travels with the vehicle or you drop it off yourself, take your house keys off the ring, and if there is genuinely no key at all, say so when you book.

What we need from you

• Year, make and model — and whether it is AWD, 4WD, electric or hybrid (this matters)
• The pickup address and exactly where on the property it sits
• The shop’s name and address, and where they want it left
• Whether it rolls, steers and shifts
• Whether you will be there
• Anything tight about the access — gates, codes, low branches, soft ground

Preparing a vehicle for a scheduled tow covers the rest, particularly clearing your belongings out — a car sitting at a shop for two weeks is an inconvenient place to have left your garage remote.

If nobody will be home

Entirely normal. Arrange it in advance rather than assuming: tell us nobody will be on site, agree where the key will be, give us a number you will actually answer, and make sure the shop is expecting the vehicle.

When the shop says it is not worth fixing

It happens, often after a diagnosis you have already paid for. At that point you have a vehicle sitting at a shop that does not want it there indefinitely, and a repair bill that exceeds what the car is worth.

Selling it is a legitimate answer. We buy vehicles running or not, pay cash, and the pickup is free — nothing comes out of the offer. Our junk car page explains how the offer is worked out, and it is worth a call before you agree to a repair you are not sure about.

If it is still at your house rather than the shop, that is an even simpler version of the same conversation.

The order that works

1. Ring the shop. Get the four answers.
2. Check the vehicle — rolls, steers, comes out of park, what is around it.
3. Clear your belongings out.
4. Ring us with both addresses and the details. Get a quote.
5. Sort the key and the access.
6. Confirm the shop is expecting it.