Orlando towing questions, answered

For a tow you call for, there is no set price. Each company sets its own hook-up fee and per-mile charge, and the trip length, the hour and the kind of truck move the total. The only fixed Orlando-area numbers are the caps on tows you didn't ask for: in unincorporated Orange County a trespass tow of a normal car is capped at $135, and storage at $32 a day after the first 24 hours. Ask for one total before the truck is sent.

I haven't found an average I trust. The national price pages disagree with each other and don't publish their method. What you can rely on is the quote you get on the phone. Ask for the hook-up fee, the per-mile rate, how many miles they count, and whether night, weekend or winch work costs extra. Then ask for the total.

Florida has no statewide price for a tow you request. For tows done without the owner's consent, counties and cities set maximum rates, and where they haven't, the Florida Highway Patrol sets them for its own rotation calls. In unincorporated Orange County the trespass tow cap for most cars under 10,000 pounds is $135, with a drop fee of no more than $67.50.

Check what you already pay for first: roadside coverage on your auto policy, a motor club, or a benefit on a credit card or a new-car warranty. On I-4 and the Central Florida toll roads, the Turnpike included, Road Rangers will change a tire or jump a battery for free, and bring fuel (dial *347). If you do need to pay for a tow, the cheapest one is usually the shortest, so pick the nearest shop that can fix the problem.

Many do, and some charge more on weekends and holidays. It is legal for a tow you ask for. Ask on the phone whether the price you are quoted includes the after-hours charge.

Often a little, because a flatbed is a bigger truck. For an all-wheel-drive car, an EV, a low sports car or a car with damage to the wheels, it is the right truck anyway. Say what you drive when you call so the company sends the right one.

In unincorporated Orange County, no more than $135 for the tow of a normal car and $32 a day in storage after the first 24 hours. Inside a city such as Orlando or Kissimmee, the city can set its own caps. Florida's s. 715.07 also says the company must post its rates at the storage lot and give you a receipt with its legal name.

Not for a tow from private property. Florida's s. 715.07 says the storage lot must be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on any day the company is towing, must post a number to call when it is closed, and must release the car within an hour of your request. Write down who told you to wait and when, and complain to the county if they refuse.

Usually only the property owner or manager can authorize a tow from a complex lot, through the company named on the signs. Call the leasing office or the after-hours line, and check that your lease says the space is assigned to you.

Look at the tow-away sign at the lot entrance. Florida law makes it list the towing company's name and phone number. The company also has to report the tow to the police (or the sheriff outside city limits) within 30 minutes, so the non-emergency police line can tell you where the car went.

No. Under s. 715.07, if you show up while your car is being towed, the company has to stop and give it back for a fee of no more than half its posted rate. In unincorporated Orange County that drop fee is capped at $67.50, and the county says the driver must give you at least 15 minutes to pay.

Florida law says within one hour of when you ask, and you can inspect the car before you accept it. Orange County's rules add that the car has to be released within 30 minutes after you pay. The lot has to be open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on any day the company tows, and post a number to reach someone when it is closed.

Not for a trespass tow in Orange County. The county's rules require them to take cash, a money order, a cashier's check, and major debit or credit cards, with no extra fee for paying by card.

Orange County Consumer Protection takes towing complaints: 407-836-4200 or fraudhelp@ocfl.net, at 2450 W. 33rd St., 2nd Floor, Orlando, FL 32839. There is a towing complaint form on the county's site. If you need the car back while you dispute the bill, you can post a bond in county court within 10 days of the tow.

Get to the shoulder or an exit if the car will move, and put the hazards on. If it is stuck in a travel lane or anyone is hurt, call 911. Otherwise dial *347 (*FHP): Road Rangers patrol I-4 and the toll roads, the Turnpike included, and can change a tire, add fuel, jump a battery or move the car somewhere safer for free. Then call a tow if you need one.

Yes. Florida's Move Over law, s. 316.126, covers a disabled car stopped with its hazard lights on or with flares or signs out. On a road with two or more lanes each way, drivers must leave the lane next to you if it's safe, or slow to 20 mph under the speed limit.

If you are able to and the car is out of the way, you can usually choose. If the police need the road cleared, they call a company from their own rotation list. That tow is priced by the agency's rate schedule. Either way, tell the driver where you want the car to go.

Yes. On a tow you ask for, you pick the destination. Give the shop's address on the first call, because distance sets the price, and ask whether the shop is open to accept the car.

If the car would run once a battery is jumped, a tire is changed, fuel is added or the door is opened, you need roadside help, and it costs less. If it won't start after a jump, is leaking, overheating, or was in a crash, it needs a tow.

Heat. Orlando International averages 129 days a year at 90°F or hotter (NOAA, 2016 to 2025), and heat speeds up the chemistry that wears a battery out. A battery that got you through summer often fails on the first cool morning after.

No. Starting an engine with water in it can wreck it. Have it towed on a flatbed to a shop, and call your insurer before you pay for repairs.

No. Orlando Tow Desk is a free referral service. We pass your request to one independent towing company that works your area. That company pays us for the introduction, sets its own prices and does the work.

Ask for its legal name and search it on Sunbiz, the state's business registry. Ask for one total, and where the car will end up. Afterward, get a written receipt with the company's legal name on it. Florida law requires one on any tow from private property, and it's worth asking for on every tow.