Frequently Asked Questions About Tow Truck Scarborough Services

The time it takes for a tow truck to show up depends on where our nearest truck is at the time and where you are. Our goal in the office is always to show up within the hour, but if that is impossible due to trucks being elsewhere we're always honest about that, though this is rarely the case. On average in Scarborough, you can expect a tow truck to show up within 40 minutes. We could say a lot more about it on our blog, because towing companies aren't the same as taxi or pizza delivery companies, but we strive to be there always within the hour that the customer calls, if that for whatever reason is not doable then we'll state it over the phone so you won't have to wait and we can schedule something more convenient.

A few things that actually change that clock in Scarborough and the rest of the east GTA: whether you are on a side street in Woburn or sitting in the 401 collectors instead of the express, whether the nearest truck is finishing a winch-out in a plaza off Markham Road, and whether snow or a blocked shoulder means the driver has to run to the next exit and double back. Two kilometres away on a map can still be 20-plus minutes on the 401 at rush hour. That is why we ask for direction of travel, express or collectors, and the nearest exit name like McCowan, Brimley, Kennedy, Warden, Morningside, or Port Union. We keep extra staff on call so one busy job does not freeze the whole board. If you are on the DVP, say so right away. Those shoulders get skinny and the truck often has to approach from the nearest ramp instead of sliding in behind you. For a planned move to a shop, we can book a window so you are not guessing. For a live highway shoulder, call (647) 250-0087 and stay belted in the car unless you are in immediate danger.

The average tow truck service in Scarborough typically costs $160. If the tow is outside of Scarborough or long-distance we always provide a free estimate over the phone.

That $160 figure is the typical Scarborough service number people should keep in their head for a normal local hook and drop. On our cost page we also walked through what we see across Canada and around Toronto. A company in B.C. told us their usual pickup-and-drop sat anywhere from $80 to $150. A company in Nova Scotia, doing a lot of small-town driving, put their average around $160. Here in Ontario, because we work in denser areas and can often finish a job without a massive empty drive, we have said our own average for the towing we run around Toronto and Pickering is about $100. After doing the math we have also said the overall average cost of a single-car tow in Canada sits around $115. Those numbers can live together because they describe different things. $160 is the typical Scarborough service people ask about. $100 is closer to what a short in-area job can land at when the vehicle is already nearby. We do not hit you with a minimum on those in-area short hops. Flatbed costs a little more than a wheel-lift because the whole car rides on a deck, which is what you want for newer cars, AWD, EVs, low front lips, and anything with collision damage. A recovery out of a snowbank, ditch, or mud is not the same product as a car already sitting on pavement. Night jobs, highway scenes, and long distance all get their own number. Outside Scarborough or across the province, we quote before anyone hooks up. Ask while you are still on the phone so the number you heard is the number on the invoice.

We also have further info our towing costs in Ontario here.

We have special rates for towing out of province and the US, which all depends on current gas prices, the size of the load, but to answer about the distance we'd say we can tow any trailers, cars, boats, cans - because we have the wreckers and big rigs to do it - anywhere a truck can go in Canada and the US, assuring of course that all parties are aware of the costs and delivery schedule which will be drawn up upon contact. Speak further with our office for further details about long distance towing.

Locally that includes the rest of Toronto, North York, East York, Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, and the 400-series highways that connect them. Longer jobs are how a lot of people use us as a cheaper alternative to treating a move like a once-a-year emergency. We already say we keep some of the lowest long distance towing rates in Ontario because we do this work often enough that the pricing is not invented on the spot. Fuel at the time, weight, deck versus a bigger wrecker, border extras, and the delivery window you need are what build the quote. Cottage-country runs up the 400 or 11 are normal. So are dealer-to-dealer moves and sending a car to a shop that actually knows the warranty. If the load is a boat, a trailer, equipment, or something that needs permits or an escort, say that in the first call so we send the right truck instead of a light-duty unit that can only stare at it. For the United States, ownership and border paperwork have to be clean before a truck points at Buffalo or Detroit. We will not roll on a “figure it out at the booth” plan. Call the office, get the cost and the delivery schedule in writing, and then we go.

Yes. 24 hours, 365 days. Christmas morning on the 401 collectors, New Year’s slush on Kingston Road, Civic Holiday weekend when half the city is heading to the cottage. Phones get answered in-house. That's one of the reasons we stay cheaper than companies carrying a giant office.

Scarborough first, then the rest of Toronto including North York and East York, then Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, and the Ontario highways that stitch those places together. Long distance across Ontario, the rest of Canada, and into the States when the job calls for it.

If the vehicle is already in the area, we will not hit you with a minimum just because the drop is three blocks from the pickup. That is written into how we work. A lot of companies still bill as if every job starts from a yard in another city.

A flatbed costs a little more because the whole vehicle rides up on a deck and never rolls on its own tires. That is what you want for anything that is not an old beater. Newer cars, AWD, CVTs, EVs, low front lips, leased vehicles, and anything with collision damage belong on a deck. A wheel-lift is faster in a tight underground garage or a skinny laneway behind a plaza on Eglinton East. We have both. We will tell you which one actually fits the spot before we send the wrong truck.

Pretty much anytime the car is newer than a 1991 Civic, sits low, is all-wheel drive, is electric, has a transmission that hates being dragged, or just took a hit. Dealerships and insurers get picky when a modern car arrives with scuffed alloy lips or a transfer case that got pulled the wrong way. The extra few dollars on the flatbed is cheaper than arguing about underbody damage later.

Yes, and we do it the way the manufacturer intended. Most AWD systems do not want two wheels rolling and two locked. Flatbed is the clean answer. If a wheel-lift is the only truck that can physically get into the spot, we use dollies on the free axle so nothing in the transfer case is being asked to spin while it is dead.

Yes. EVs are heavier than they look, sit low, and often have no Park-to-Neutral trick that a gas car has. We treat them as flatbed jobs unless the site makes that impossible. We also watch ground clearance on the approach ramps so the battery pack does not kiss the steel. If you are stranded at a charger that died at Scarborough Town Centre or a condo underground, say so on the call so we send the right deck height.

Exact address or highway marker, direction of travel, express or collectors if you are on the 401, make and model, whether it rolls, whether it is AWD or EV, whether it is in a ditch or just dead in a lane, and where you want it to go. If keys are with you or in the car, say that too. That 20-second dump of info is the difference between a wheel-lift arriving at a Tesla on a sloped ramp and a flatbed that can actually load it.

A hook-up is the car is on the pavement, we connect, we leave. A recovery is the car is not in a place a truck can just back up to: snowbank, ditch off Highland Creek, mud behind a plaza, over a curb into a boulevard. Recovery uses winches, straps, snatch blocks, sometimes a second truck. The tow is the travel after the car is under control. People mix those words up on the phone and then get surprised by time on scene. We separate them when we quote.

Hooks, chains, straps, electric winches, gas jerry cans, and the usual roadside kit. That is the list we already put on the site because it is what sits on the trucks, not a brochure fantasy. If you are dry on fuel or need a short pull before the tow, we are not driving back to the shop for a can.

Yes. Portable boosts and jumper cables are a normal call for us. In January in Scarborough the battery that was “fine yesterday” is often just cold and tired. If it fires and holds, you drive away. If it dies again in thirty seconds, we stop cooking a bad battery and tow it to a shop so you are not sitting on Lawrence Avenue doing the same boost three times.

Yes. Spare on, doughnut on, or we tow if there is no spare, the lock-nut key is missing, or the wheel is already shredded against a curb. A lot of newer cars in this city shipped with inflator kits instead of a real spare. Those kits do nothing if the sidewall is torn. Tell us which situation you are in so we do not send a tech to a car that cannot be driven even with a plug.

Not always. We do car key retrieval. If the lockout is clean and we can get in without damage, you keep the car. If the battery is also dead and the fob is inside a locked EV, it can turn into a combined lockout-plus-tow. Say what you see on the dash when you call.

Yes. Trucks carry jerry cans. This is one of those calls that sounds embarrassing and is actually extremely common on the 401 when someone thought the light was “just a suggestion” between Morningside and the Durham line. We would rather drop a few litres than drag a perfectly healthy car 20 km.

Hazards on. If you can get the car fully into the shoulder, do it. If you cannot, stay in the vehicle with the seatbelt on unless the car is on fire or you are in immediate danger. Get out on the passenger side if you must get out. Do not stand between the car and live traffic taking photos. Call us with the direction, express or collectors, and the nearest exit name. McCowan, Brimley, Markham Road, Kennedy, Warden, Victoria Park, Morningside, Meadowvale, and Port Union are the markers our drivers actually use in Scarborough. “I’m on the 401” by itself is not a location.

Because those are two different roads running side by side with limited places to hop between them. A truck in the collectors cannot legally or safely reach you in the express just because you can see each other through the fence. If you crawled into a gore or a transfer, say that too. Transfers around McCowan and Markham Road eat more tow trucks’ time than almost any other local pattern.

The DVP shoulders get skinny, the walls come up fast, and the curves follow the valley. A disabled car there often still has a tire in a live lane. Police or traffic control show up more often. We plan the approach from the nearest ramp instead of assuming we can just pull in behind you. If you are between Bloor and the 401 in a curve, say so. That stretch is a different job than sitting on a wide 401 shoulder east of Morningside.

Yes, with the usual catch that 407 is a separate corridor with its own patrol and tolling. If the job has to use 407 because the 401 is parked, we talk about the toll before we take that route. You can ask for a non-toll route when the extra minutes are not worse than the extra charge.

Yes. Ontario has restricted tow zones on parts of the 400-series network. In those zones you do not get to wave down whoever rolled up first. The contracted or authorized operator handles the scene. If you are not in a restricted zone, you still have the right to choose your company and your destination. That is why calling us yourself beats hopping into the first truck that circled the collision.

A chaser sits on an overpass or in a plaza listening to scanners and watching crash maps. Toronto is full of people who thought they were being helped by a chaser truck and ended up with a car in a yard they never chose. We are a dispatched company. You call us. We tell you the wait. We take the car where you say!

No, unless police or a restricted zone take that choice away. Under Ontario’s Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act you choose the company and you choose the destination, except when an authorized official directs the tow. You also get the rates and a list of your rights before you agree. Do not sign a blank form. Do not accept “we will figure it out at the shop.”

Toronto’s Collision Reporting Centres are the Howden Road site in the Birchmount and Lawrence area and the Toryork Road site at Weston and Finch. OPP also runs a centre at Keele and the 401. If a driver tells you their cousin’s body shop “is the collision centre,” it is not. A real CRC has police staff taking statements and photos. If you need to report and the car still rolls, you can often drive it there yourself within 24 hours when police did not attend.

Usually, if you carry collision, all-perils, or you are dealing with the claim under Direct Compensation Property Damage. Towing is treated as part of getting a damaged car to a reporting centre or a shop. Your deductible still applies to the claim as a whole. Basic third-party liability only does not buy you a tow. If a random truck is pushing you to “just sign, insurance will cover whatever,” call your insurer first and get a claim number.

Not on a basic policy. Breakdown towing, boosts, lockouts, fuel, and flat tires sit on optional roadside coverage. In Ontario that add-on is often the OPCF 35 endorsement, or a CAA-style membership, or your automaker’s roadside plan. A lot of people in Scarborough find this out the hard way at 11 p.m. in a plaza lot. If you have the endorsement, say so when you book so the invoice is written in a way your insurer can swallow.

Sometimes, when the insurer has already opened a claim and told you to use a tow they will recognize. A lot of the time you pay us, keep the itemized invoice, and put it on the claim. We would rather you call the insurer from the shoulder than guess. Guessing is how people end up fighting a $900 yard bill that never needed to exist.

Time on scene, traffic control, debris, fluids, waiting for police, extra labour to make a smashed car safe to move, and sometimes a regulated or contracted rate if the job is police-directed. A clean breakdown in a plaza is a different product from a three-lane pinball on the 401 collectors at rush hour. Anyone quoting you one mystery lump sum with no breakdown is not doing you a favour.

Consent to tow, the company’s maximum rate schedule or a clear quoted price, destination written down, and later an itemized invoice before you pay. Ontario requires operators to show certificate details on the truck and on the paperwork. If a driver gets twitchy when you want the destination in writing, that is your cue to slow down.

They can claim a lien for unpaid towing and storage under the rules that govern those yards. That is exactly why you choose the drop location yourself whenever the law lets you. Home, your shop, your dealer, or a CRC is almost always smarter than “our yard overnight.” Daily storage in this market commonly sits in a range people describe as tens of dollars per day, and after-hours gate fees pile on. Pick the car up fast if it did go to a yard.

When Toronto declares a snow emergency, cars left on designated snow routes get tagged and moved so plows can get down the street. That is a municipal tow, not a roadside breakdown. It is a different bill and a different compound. If your street is a snow route, move the car before the declaration turns into a ticket. If you are simply stuck in a drift on a local Scarborough street and you call us, that is a recovery we can quote.

Soft points first. Factory tow hooks if the car has them, then rated straps to structure, not to the plastic valence that looks like metal in the dark. We clear packed snow from under the car so we are not dragging a plow. In Scarborough the ugly jobs are the ones where a plow threw a hard ridge into the bumper and then the driver spun trying to power out. We pull in the direction the car can actually move, not the direction the driver wishes it would move.

Because the first real slush is usually sitting on cold pavement that was dry yesterday. People still take the 401 at summer speed, then tap the brakes in slush and the car swaps ends toward the shoulder. OPP briefings after those storms talk about dozens to hundreds of ditch and snowbank calls in a day, on top of the collisions. The cars that need us most are not the ones in movie-style wrecks. They are the ones that slithered three metres off an exit ramp at Morningside and now have a wheel hanging.

It is real on the east-west highways when a squall line sits over the lake. Visibility drops faster than a normal city snow. You can be fine at Victoria Park and blind by Rouge. Those squalls are why we ask for a precise pin even when you think “you will see me.” We will not.

Yes. Mud is a recovery, not a tow. The truck stays on firm ground. We use a longer pull so the wrecker does not become the second stuck vehicle. Scarborough industrial pockets and new-build pads off Sheppard and Steeles manufacture this call every thaw.

We do ditch, snow, and off-pavement work. Anything on a serious slope or over a drop gets scoped before a truck commits, because a light-duty wheel-lift is the wrong tool near a grade. If the car is truly over an edge, say that in the first sentence. Honesty on the phone keeps the right wrecker coming instead of a truck that can only stare at the problem.

Yes, on a flatbed with proper straps or a cradle. A bike on a regular hook is how fairings get crushed. Tell us the bike type because a Harley on crash bars and a sport bike with no stand are two different tie-down jobs.

Yes. Boat towing is on our service list. Trailers, launches, and longer hauls all depend on the trailer being roadworthy. If the trailer bearings are gone or the lights are dead, we talk about that before we put it on the 401 at night.

Yes. Heavy equipment transport, heavy haulage, tractors, and bulk-style long distance work are part of the company, not a side hustle we pretend to do. Those jobs get planned for permits, height, time of day, and escort needs. Call the office. Don't expect a $160 car-tow number to apply to a machine.

Yes. Junk pickup and cash based on what the car is actually worth as scrap or parts, not a fantasy number. If it does not roll we still take it. If you have a driveway full of a dead van in Malvern, that is a normal Tuesday.

Usually yes on a normal local tow if there is a seat and it is safe. After some highway jobs or if the cab is already full of gear, we will tell you to grab a ride or a taxi. Pets come only if they can be controlled. We are not a shuttle company, but we also do not enjoy leaving someone on a dark shoulder.

Call and ask when you book so there is no theatre at the drop-off. For anything that is not a simple local cash-and-go, we want the price settled on the phone first. Insurance jobs need a clean invoice, which we already do.

Treat tax as extra unless a quote is clearly marked as all-in. When we give a phone estimate we can say whether the number you heard is before tax.

Some companies add a night surcharge. We would rather quote the job you have than hide a night fee in the fine print. If your job is at 2 a.m. on the 401, the honest variables are distance, truck type, and whether we are recovering or just hooking. Ask while we are still on the phone.

Because close on a map is not close on the 401 at 5 p.m. A truck can be two kilometres away and 25 minutes out if it has to run to the next exit, come back the other way, and wait for a hole in the collectors. Add snow, a blocked shoulder, or police holding the lane and the clock changes. That is why we talk in real minutes, not slogans.

Your house if it is secure and you still need time to think. Your regular shop if they can take it tonight. The dealer if it is under warranty or an EV they actually know. The CRC if you are in accident-reporting territory. The worst default is a tow yard you did not choose. We will take it where you point.

Yes. That becomes a distance job, so you get an estimate first. People do this all the time when the car is under a warranty that dies if a random shop touches it.

Yes, and those jobs are why wheel-lifts still exist. Height bars, spiral ramps, and stall widths in older Scarborough condos will laugh at a long-deck flatbed. We may load in the garage with a wheel-lift and transfer, or we may winch to a spot the flatbed can reach. Send a photo of the ramp if you can. It saves a wasted dispatch.

Yes. Neutral, dollies, winch, or a combination. Steering locks and seized brakes are normal, not a reason to start yelling at the car. The time to mention it is on the call, not after the truck's already set up for a rolling load.

Not if the car is moved the way the manual describes. Flatbed or dolly-supported wheel-lift is the safe version for modern drivetrains. What gets warranties in trouble is dragging a locked AWD car on two wheels down Eglinton because someone wanted to save twenty minutes.

Yes, on a flatbed or with dollies. A missing wheel is a recovery setup, not a standard hook.

We straighten what we can, protect the rim, and load. Curb-hugging flats in Scarborough plazas are a weekly call. If the rim is already eaten, we will say so before we pull, because that damage was there before we arrived.

Yes. Emergency collision work is part of the 24/7 service. If officers are directing traffic or holding the vehicle, we work inside that. If they have not taken over the scene and you still have choice, you can still call us.

Say no. Call your insurer. Call us if you want an independent tow. Choose the CRC or your own shop. The pressure pitch exists because storage, estimates, rentals, and referrals pay better than a clean tow. Local forums are not imagining that pattern.

Since the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act took over province-wide, operators need certificates, trucks need to show who they are, you get rates and rights before you consent, you get an itemized invoice, and they cannot invent charges that are not on their filed maximum rate schedule. They also cannot charge more than that published maximum. If a bill feels invented, you can take it to the Ministry of Transportation. The law is not perfect. It is still a lot better than the old “whatever the driver can get you to sign” era.

It's the official ceiling that company filed for each service. Basic tow, extra kilometres, recovery time, storage, and the add-ons they are allowed to bill. It is a ceiling, not a target. A good company quotes the job you have, which is often under the ceiling. A bad company points at the ceiling and shrugs.

We cannot unwind their invoice. We can come get the car from their yard once you are allowed to release it, and we can take it where you actually wanted it in the first place. Keep every scrap of paper. Call your insurer and, if the conduct was ugly, MTO.

Private-property tows are a different legal animal from a breakdown you requested. In Toronto, unpaid private-property tows for lighter vehicles are tied to set contract-style limits rather than whatever a driver feels like charging. If you are the car owner calling us because you are stuck in a lot, that is a normal customer tow. If a security guard already called a contracted truck, we may not be able to intercept mid-hook.

We can move it. We will not tell you it is fine. Water in an engine or an EV pack is an insurance conversation, usually comprehensive if the policy has it. We load it like a disabled car and take it where the adjuster or shop wants it.

That is typically a comprehensive-style claim if you carry that coverage, not a “you were a bad driver” collision in the everyday sense. The car still needs a safe tow. Same rule: choose the destination, get the invoice.

Yes. People book us to move a car to a shop on Tuesday morning, relocate a purchased used car, or get a vehicle to a driveway after a sale. Scheduled work is how you lock a price with no adrenaline. If you can plan it, plan it.

Fuel at the time, distance, size and weight, whether it is a solo car on a deck or something that needs a bigger truck, border extras, and the delivery window you need. We already say we keep some of the lowest long-distance rates in Ontario because we do the work often enough that it is not a once-a-year panic invoice. You'll get the schedule in writing before we leave Scarborough.

Yes, when the paperwork, ownership, and destination make sense. Border jobs fail when someone wants to move a car that is not theirs, has a lien mess, or has no plan for the other side. We talk that through before a truck points at Detroit or Buffalo.

Yes. Highway 11, 400, 35, and the rest of the weekend map are normal long-distance lanes for us. Friday night in winter is a different quote than Tuesday morning in June because the 400 northbound on a storm Friday is not a theoretical highway.

Because we would rather lose a fantasy five-minute promise than have you standing in slush believing a lie. The site already says we stick to estimated wait times and we stay honest when a truck is elsewhere. That is the whole personality of the company. Extra staff exist so the honest number is still usually inside an hour in Scarborough.

Batteries fail more. Plows build ridges that trap front fascias. Shoulders turn into ice shelves. People leave the 401 travelling too fast for the slush they cannot see. Condos become skating rinks on the ramp. And every storm, abandoned cars on snow routes create a second wave of municipal tows that has nothing to do with us. We dress the job for winter because we pull cars out of ditches here all season, not once in a brochure photo.

No. You are polishing ice and cooking a clutch or a transfer case. Put a bit of floor mat under a drive wheel if you are on a quiet street and it is safe. If that fails, stop and call. The recovery is cheaper before you bury it to the rocker panels.

Yes. Malls and plazas are easy compared with the 401, but security sometimes wants the car moved a certain way, and parkades have height limits. If you are at STC, say which entrance or lot. That place is big enough to waste a driver’s time if all we have is “I’m at the mall.”

If the car is already out and stuck in the berm, we can pull it. If the berm is just sitting there and the car is still in the driveway, that is usually a shovel-and-wait problem, not a wrecker problem. We will not pretend a $160 tow is the best tool for a two-minute shovel.

Yes. Non-running cars heading to scrap are a pickup, not a debate. Have ownership ready so the yard does not bounce the car back onto us.

Sometimes, if we have the right truck and both cars are ready in the same place. Do not assume a single deck can eat two collision cars. Ask.

Very common. We treat it as a local tow to your house or a shop. Bring the bill of sale and plates situation so we are not moving a car into a legal grey area.

Yes. Transit lots fill up with dead batteries in winter because cars sit all day in the cold, then the owner returns at 7 p.m. and gets a click. Boost first when it makes sense, tow if it does not.

Straps or chains at the right points, parking brake handled correctly, wheels chocked on a deck, and no “yank it and hope” angle on the winch. Interior items should come with you. We are not a vault for laptops left on a seat.

If the car is going anywhere other than your own driveway, yes. Remotes and passes disappearing from glove boxes is one of those ugly small problems that turns into a condo argument.

Yes, as long as we are not asked to rip it through a fence or across a hydro vault. We look at what the car will hit on the way back to the pavement. Curb launches after a little bump on Kingston Road are more common than people think.

Get them out of live traffic and into a safe indoor spot if one exists: a nearby plaza, a Tim Hortons, a station building. On a true highway shoulder, staying belted inside is often safer than wandering the gravel. Tell the dispatcher you have kids so we treat the clock with a bit more urgency and you are not trying to parent on a collector lane.

If the scene is actively unsafe, if the request is to drag a car in a way that will wreck it, or if someone wants us to move a vehicle they clearly have no right to move, we stop. Twenty-plus years in this trade is long enough to know which jobs become court files.

Because the truck that actually lives east of Victoria Park already knows the 401 transfers, the plaza ramps that look fine on Google and are not, and the difference between a 20-minute job in Woburn and a 20-minute fantasy. We run extra staff so you're not waiting on a truck that is still in Mississauga. We answer the phone. We give estimates for the work that isn't a cookie-cutter local hook. That is the whole pitch, and it is the same one already on the homepage.

Just call (647) 250-0087 or fill out our quote form to enter our system. Don't send a long email and expect emergency service. We answer phones in-house to dispatch accordingly, and can also schedule your service for any future date.