First, are you alright?
If anyone is hurt, call 911 before you call a tow truck. Get out of the live lane and behind a barrier if you can do it safely. A vehicle can be replaced and this page can wait. Everything below is about the part that comes afterwards.
Why a wreck is a recovery, not a tow
A damaged car frequently cannot roll at all. Bent suspension, a seized wheel, a collapsed strut, or a wheel no longer pointing the same way as the other three means dragging it is not an option, and a wheel-lift will turn a repairable car into a total. It goes on a deck, and it usually has to be winched on, because it will not steer and it may not roll.
There is also debris, there is usually fluid on the road, and there is often a live lane involved. Wimberley Towing runs WreckMaster certified drivers, and on a scene with law enforcement present that training is the difference between clearing a road properly and creating a second collision behind the first one.
Working with law enforcement
If police ordered the tow, the rate is regulated by the county rather than set by us: $272 starting in Hays County, $300 starting in Blanco County. Those figures are published on our towing rates page, which is more than most towing companies in this market will put in writing.
You are generally entitled to say where your vehicle goes. If you have a preferred body shop, tell the officer and tell dispatch, because it is far easier to route the car correctly the first time than to move it twice.
What to do while you wait
- Get clear of the vehicle and the lane. Standing beside a wrecked car on a live shoulder is how the second, worse thing happens.
- Photograph everything before it moves. Position, damage, debris, the other vehicle, the road. Insurers ask, and the scene will not exist in twenty minutes.
- Take your documents and valuables out. Once the car is in a yard, getting back into it is a process rather than a decision.
- Do not try to move it yourself. A leaking fuel line or a damaged battery cable is not obvious from the driver seat.
Where the vehicle goes
Wherever you need it, within reason: a body shop, a dealership, your insurer’s yard, your home, or ours. Tell dispatch when you call (512) 375-1215 so it goes to the right place the first time, because a second move costs you a second time and nobody reimburses that cheerfully.
Heavy vehicles and commercial wrecks
A commercial vehicle down on I-35 or US 281 is a bigger job, a longer road closure, and usually a load that has to be dealt with before the truck can move. That is heavy duty towing, and fleets should have a corporate account arranged long before they need one.
Part of our off-road recovery service, alongside winch-out service and mud and ditch recovery.
What happens with the insurance
If police ordered the tow, the rate is the county regulated one: $272 starting in Hays County, $300 in Blanco County. If they did not, it is a normal quoted job and your insurer may cover it depending on your policy.
What we can do is give you clean paperwork, tell you exactly where the vehicle went, and not hold it hostage. Storage accrues daily, so move quickly, and take photo ID and proof of ownership when you collect it. See towing rates.
Where the car goes, and why it matters
You generally get to say. If you have a preferred body shop, tell the officer on scene and tell dispatch when you call (512) 375-1215, because routing it correctly the first time is free and moving it a second time is not.
What to photograph before it moves
Once the vehicle is on the deck, the scene stops existing. Insurers ask questions later that are only answerable from the roadside, and you will not get a second chance.
- The position of the vehicles before anybody moves them, from a few angles.
- The damage, close and wide, on every vehicle involved.
- The road: skid marks, debris, fluid, signage, and the light conditions.
- The other driver’s details and their insurance, if they are able to give them.
Do it before you worry about the tow. We will wait, and any towing company worth calling will.
Getting your belongings out
Take your documents, your keys, your phone, and anything valuable out of the vehicle before it leaves. Once it is behind a gate in a yard, retrieving a wallet from the glovebox becomes a process with opening hours attached to it rather than a thirty second decision.
Call (512) 375-1215 and tell dispatch where the car should go.