My parents were driving to the beach for vacation. Their car broke down in a small city just under 100 miles from their destination and about 250 miles from home. It’s under warranty, but the nearest dealership is 50 miles away (in a completely different direction than either home or the beach), and of course neither a dealership nor local independent mechanics will be open until Monday. I’m mechanically-inclined but they’re not, so trying to diagnose it and do a hotel parking lot repair seems like a no-go. They have roadside assistance that covers a tow to the nearest mechanic, but presumably not 50 miles to a dealer. They were worried about not getting a refund for their prepaid hotel reservation (a couple thousand bucks), but the hotel apparently let them reschedule it to next week.

I think they’re trying to get quotes from towing companies now, but my wild guess is that a 90-mile weekend tow would be pretty expensive, let alone a 250-mile one. I really have no idea, though.

It seems to me that our options include:

  • Limp it or have it towed to a local mechanic and be stuck in the city they’re in until it’s fixed.
  • Have the car towed 50 miles to the nearest dealer and be stuck in that city until it’s fixed.
  • Have the car towed 90 miles to the dealer at their destination, move their hotel reservation back to its original date, and have it fixed while they’re on vacation.
  • Have the car towed 250 miles to home.
  • Rent a U-haul box truck and an auto trailer and tow it to the dealership at the beach themselves ($194).
  • Rent a U-haul box truck and an auto trailer and tow it home themselves ($369). (They’re leaning towards this, but leery because they haven’t towed anything in decades.)
  • Have me drive out to meet them, rent the U-haul box truck and trailer, and let me tow it home while they drive my car home.
  • Have me rent a towing-capable pickup truck here, drive out to them, rent an auto trailer there, and have me tow it home. (The trouble with this is that “car rental” places only have light-duty pickups that might not have suitable hitch and/or tow rating, “truck rental” places aren’t open until Monday, and Home Depot, which rents F-250s and is open on Sunday, apparently prohibits towing except for equipment rented from them.)

Any advice is welcome!


UPDATE: They picked the “rent a U-haul box truck and an auto trailer and tow it home themselves” option, and have made it home safely. Thanks for all the advice!

  • Hyzerflip@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    49
    ·
    1 year ago

    If it’s under warranty, then the manufacture will cover towing to the nearest dealer and if they are outside of the range, to the nearest qualified mechanic. Hard stop, call the warranty company and have them hash it out.

    • grue@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      23
      ·
      1 year ago

      It’s a Kia, and it’s within the 10-year/100k mile powertrain warranty, but apparently not the 5-year/60k mile roadside assistance plan.

    • survive@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      Definitely this. I can’t speak to every manufacturer but I know with Ford I have their roadside assistance for the length of my warranty.

  • PeachMan@lemmy.one
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    1 year ago

    I hope you’ll find an easier way to do it, but if it was me in your shoes, I’d probably drive out to them. You driving the U-Haul with them driving your car home sounds like a good idea. It’s the safest option to make sure they don’t run into even MORE trouble.

  • Test_Tickles@lemmynsfw.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    1 year ago

    My auto insurance covers tows up to 200 miles, so you need to contact them and verify.
    The thing is, even if they only cover 50 miles, they will pay the 50, then you only pay the extra, so I would get some quotes. If you have AAA, then like others said, they never check for id… but I understand why you don’t want to worry about risking it, so just drive out there and then call AAA and tell them you were driving their car. Then drive them home in your car while AAA tows thiers.

  • PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    1 year ago

    I’m in Europe where many countries have motorists’ clubs that can assist in these situations.

    Isn’t it called AAA in the states?

    • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      AAA is one of those services that I occasionally think I don’t need, and then something like this happens and proves me wrong. It’s definitely worth it when you need it.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I believe AAA will even let you join after the fact for a breakdown like this EXCEPT only at the lowest tier where they cover only short tows to the nearest repair shop

      I have a middle tier where I can get tows up to 150 miles, but there was a one year “probation” before they let me pay for the higher tier

  • andrewta@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    1 year ago

    I’d choose the rent a uhaul and an auto trailer and it to the dealership at the beach for $194 . is it a cost? yes. but it’s the most efficient one.

    you don’t have to spend your day driving there and back. they get to spend their vacation where they planned. they don’t have their car while on vacation, but the dealership MIGHT have a vehicle they can borrow while theirs is being worked on.

  • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    If your parents have time, they could check if their credit card has any sort of roadside assistance perk or travel insurance.

  • Donger@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    1 year ago

    Did you make sure it wasn’t something stupid stopping the car from running? Like does it have gas? Is the battery connected properly? Do some basic checks before you waste time and money getting out there.

    See if there’s a mobile mechanic in that region that can come look at it. The problem is probably something simple they can diagnose right away.

    Then if it’s not a simple fix, I would have them tow it with a Penske truck but only if they know what they’re doing. You can total a car by towing it wrong.

    • grue@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      Did you make sure it wasn’t something stupid stopping the car from running? Like does it have gas? Is the battery connected properly? Do some basic checks before you waste time and money getting out there.

      I don’t think it’s so simple as to be a gas or a battery thing. I tried to get them to cooperate with some troubleshooting, but they’re old and don’t have the patience for it.

      I would have them tow it with a Penske truck but only if they know what they’re doing. You can total a car by towing it wrong.

      If they tow it, it’ll be with a U-Haul Auto Transport (a trailer that supports all four wheels off the ground).

    • grue@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      They’re in South Carolina.

      I myself have AAA Plus, but as far as I can tell, for it to be useful either I’d have to be with them or one of them would have to be a member of my household and an “Associate Member” on my account, none of which is the case.

      I tried to get them to describe the issue and let me talk them through troubleshooting it, but in their old age, they get frustrated easily and have a particularly low tolerance for any kind of technical instruction. Plus they’ve never been the DIY-type to begin with.

    • Dave@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      You can send messages to other lemmy users. Go to their user page, click Send Message. It only works between lemmy instances (e.g. you can’t message someone on Kbin).

  • cm0002@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    You should confirm the distance with the insurance, you never really know unless you call or dig through the paperwork. If insurance is eligible/on the hook to cover the cost of repair, they may very well opt to cover a 50 mile tow and have the manufacturer be on the hook for repairs

    Edit: They might also be able to cover the cost of tow partially, maybe they’ll only cover the first 25 miles and you just pay out of pocket for the remainder

  • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    Rent a box truck large enough to hold the car, and a wrecker with a flatbed truck on each end to load and unload.

    Might be more expensive than the trailer.