Tow or No? When You Should & Shouldn’t Call a Tow Truck

Here’s our “Tow or No” guideline:

No – Minor hail damage

The weather here in the great plains of the Midwest often brings hail that’s just aggravating enough to ruin your day, yet not so bad that it breaks a windshield or headlight and ultimately makes your vehicle unsafe to drive.

Minor cosmetic damage to the body panels of your SUV typically isn’t a reason to request a tow truck, but you’ll still want to call our team to schedule an appointment for some paintless dent repair. Minor hail damage can cause rusting, paint chipping, and just looks icky. The McCarthy Collision Centers team will provide an estimate, help you make an insurance claim, pop those dents, and have your vehicle looking as good as new in no time.

Tow – Major accident

This is the big one, the experience we all dread: an accident on the highway with lots of obvious damage, glass and debris everywhere, and airbags deployed. There are a few steps to handle right away, if you’re able:

1. Check on all the passengers.
2. Call 911 to get medical and support professionals on the way.
3. Make sure people and vehicles are out of traffic if possible.
4. You should then call McCarthy Collision Centers at (800) NEW-AGAIN to arrange a tow to one of our good body shops around Kansas City. You’ll want your estimate performed by an experienced team and help with your insurance claims, as well as quick and professional repair service.

No – A gentle parking lot encounter

You had a plan to make some memories with the family this Saturday. You loaded the family into the minivan and headed out for a day of hiking, shopping, and fast food. Everyone was happy, their bellies full, and you were all belted up and ready to head home.

Unfortunately, someone was a little too tired and misjudged the distance between your vehicle and the black convertible in front of you, which resulted in a minor fender-bender. You and the other drive agree there’s no need to call the police. The next step is, of course, to swap insurance and contact information with the other driver – but what comes after that?

This isn’t a situation where you need to call a tow truck, but you should call our Kansas City body shops to schedule a free estimate to repair any damage.

Tow – Airbag deployment

Your vehicle’s airbags are deployed when one of its various sensors determines a sudden deceleration—a crash, basically—was severe enough to deploy them. These sensors are incredibly trustworthy, but it’s possible for them to fire an airbag (or 6) in a scenario where the vehicle might still seem drivable. You may have rubbernecked an accident where the car seems perfectly fine, but the airbags are all visible and there’s a tow truck pulling up to the scene.

A general rule is that airbags are crucial to your safety, and you should never drive a vehicle with any airbag deployed. The team at McCarthy Collision Centers will arrange a tow, perform a professional replacement of your airbags, and fix any other damage caused in an accident.

Tow – Broken windshield

We’ve replaced a lot of windshields. Aside from hail breaking windows, a surprisingly common reason to require windshield repair is a deer deciding to personally introduce itself to the driver. Even if you’re able to drive away from the crash with half a doe on the hood of your sedan and a windshield-less windshield, you shouldn’t. (And you don’t want to recreate that scene from Tommy Boy.)

Please call us for a tow instead, as the windshield plays a critical role in protecting you from road debris and keeping your visibility high. (It’s also illegal to drive without a windshield.) Trust the team at McCarthy Collision Centers to replace your windshield and fix any dents in your grille or hood.

Our McCarthy Collision Centers around Kansas City are filled with professionals who are authorities in autobody repair. If you need to call a tow truck in Kansas City, tell them to send your vehicle to any one of our Kansas or Missouri body shops. Or dial 800-NEW-AGAIN and we’ll arrange a tow for you!