When your car breaks down on the side of the road, you need to be able to get it to a mechanic's shop so that it can be checked out. The best way to do that is to call a towing service and have them come to tow your car to the shop for you. If you choose to do that, you will need to tell the tow truck dispatcher a few things so that the tow truck driver can be properly prepared for your car. So, what are some of the things you should tell them?

Precise Location

You may not know precisely where you are, but you will probably have a pretty good idea. You need to tell the dispatcher where you are as precisely as possible. If the driver has to spend a lot of time driving around, that will delay your tow. That can leave you in a potentially unsafe situation for longer than you should be. If you have a GPS unit in your car or on your phone, you should be able to look at the map, which can give you a pretty good idea of your location. 

Car's Make and Model

You also need to tell the dispatcher the make and model of your car as well as the model year. The driver will need to know that info because certain models of cars can't be towed on a tow truck but have to be pulled up on a flatbed tow truck. That's because towing them with a regular tow truck can destroy your car's steering and axles. That will just make the repairs that you are already going to have to pay for even more expensive. But if the tow truck driver pulls your car up on their flatbed, none of that will be a worry. Your car will just be strapped into place and won't move until it's time to let it down at the mechanic's shop. Be sure to tell the dispatcher if your car has a manual or automatic transmission. That can also affect how the driver handles your car. 

If you need to have your car towed, you need to make sure that you tell the tow truck dispatcher as much as possible. The more information that you can share with them, the faster you can get your car towed to the mechanic's shop and the faster that you can get off the side of the road and somewhere safe. For more information on towing, contact a professional near you.