Do dealerships offer towing? Yes, most do — but only within strict limits. The standard coverage is 15 miles or delivery to the nearest qualified repair facility, whichever comes first.
If your breakdown happens outside that window, or after your warranty period ends, you’re on your own. This guide covers exactly what dealership towing includes, where it falls short, and what your real options are when it doesn’t cover your situation.
What Dealership Towing Actually Covers
When you buy a new vehicle, most manufacturers bundle roadside assistance into the warranty package. This is not the same as a full towing service – it’s a limited benefit with specific conditions. Understanding the difference protects you from assuming coverage you don’t have.
Standard Dealership Towing Benefits
Most new vehicle warranties include roadside assistance as a standard feature. The towing component typically covers transport to the nearest authorized dealership or qualified repair facility – not necessarily the shop of your choice.
Beyond towing, most dealership roadside programs also include:
- Jump-starts for dead batteries
- Flat tire changes (if you have a spare)
- Lockout service if you lose or lock in your keys
- Fuel delivery (you pay for the fuel itself)
- Winching if the vehicle is stuck within 100 feet of a paved road
- Towing electric vehicles to the nearest charging station
The Distance Limit Problem
Here’s where most people get caught off guard. Dealership towing is typically capped at 15 miles or transport to the nearest qualified shop – whichever is shorter. If you break down 30 miles from home on a rural highway, that 15-mile tow drops you at a shop you’ve never heard of, nowhere near your home or your preferred mechanic.
Understanding the difference between towing and roadside assistance matters here – dealership programs lean heavily toward roadside fixes and short transport runs, not true long-distance recovery. For breakdowns on major corridors like I-270, the distance problem is real. Our guide on what to do when your car breaks down on I-270 covers what to expect when dealership coverage falls short.
How Long Does Dealership Towing Coverage Last?
Coverage terms vary by manufacturer, but most bundle roadside assistance with the bumper-to-bumper warranty – typically 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. Some brands extend it further:
- Toyota: 2 years / unlimited miles (ToyotaCare)
- Hyundai/Kia: 5 years / 60,000 miles
- BMW/Mercedes: 4 years / 50,000 miles
- Ford: 5 years / 60,000 miles (Ford Roadside Assistance)
- Chevrolet/GMC: 5 years / 60,000 miles
Once that term expires, you’re paying out of pocket unless you have separate coverage. This is the most common reason people discover their dealership towing benefit is gone exactly when they need it.
Dealership Towing vs. Independent Towing Company
| Factor | Dealership Program | Independent Tow Company |
|---|---|---|
| Tow distance | 15 miles or nearest shop | Any distance you choose |
| Destination | Nearest authorized shop | Your chosen location |
| Availability | Within warranty term | 24/7, no expiration |
| Cost | Included while active | Varies by distance and service |
| Response time | Dispatched through third party | Direct dispatch, often faster |
What to Do When Your Dealership Towing Isn’t Enough
Most people don’t find out about their dealership’s towing limits until they’re standing on the side of a road watching those limits apply to their situation. Here’s what to know before that happens – and what to do when it does.
Step 1: Know Your Coverage Before You Break Down
Pull out your warranty booklet or call your dealership’s service department now, while you’re not in an emergency. Ask specifically: How many miles does towing cover? Does it go to the shop of my choice or only authorized dealers?
What’s the expiration date on my roadside assistance? Store the roadside assistance number in your phone – not just in the glove box manual. When you’re stranded in the dark on a highway, you won’t be digging through paperwork.
If you want a full checklist for breakdown preparedness, our essential car emergency kit guide covers everything worth having in your vehicle before trouble starts.
Step 2: Check Your Auto Insurance Policy
Your car insurance may include towing coverage you’ve been paying for and forgetting about. The Insurance Information Institute notes that roadside assistance add-ons are among the most underutilized policy features. The specifics depend on your policy:
- Collision coverage typically covers towing if your car is damaged in an accident
- Non-collision coverage covers towing for events like floods, vandalism, or falling objects
- Roadside assistance add-on covers breakdown towing regardless of cause – check if you opted into this
Call your insurer before calling a tow company when possible – if they’re covering the tow, using their preferred provider can simplify reimbursement. For a deeper look at how insurance interacts with towing, see our breakdown of accident towing and insurance in Frederick County.
Step 3: Call a Local Towing Company Directly
When dealership towing won’t reach your destination, calling a local towing company directly is your fastest path to getting where you need to go. A 24-hour towing service can pick you up anywhere and deliver to your chosen mechanic, your home, or any other location – with no distance cap and no authorization requirements.
One important note: make sure you understand what the tow will cost before the driver hooks up your vehicle. Our guide on how much towing costs breaks down what’s standard by distance and situation so you know what a fair price looks like.
Does Car Insurance Cover Towing After an Accident?
This is one of the most common questions we hear – and the answer depends entirely on what coverage you carry. Dealership roadside assistance generally does not cover accident-related towing. That falls to your auto insurance.
If you have collision or non-collision coverage, your insurer will typically cover the initial tow from the accident scene to a storage lot or repair facility.
What they won’t automatically cover are impound storage fees that accumulate while the vehicle sits – those add up fast at $25 to $75 per day depending on the facility.
After an accident, moving quickly matters. Read our full guide on what to do after a car accident – including when to call for a tow and when to wait for your insurer to coordinate it.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Dealership’s Towing Benefit
If you’re still within your warranty period, here’s how to use the coverage you have without running into avoidable problems.
Read the Fine Print Before You Need It
Your roadside assistance agreement spells out exactly what’s covered – mileage limits, service caps, number of incidents per year, and geographic restrictions. Most people never read it until something goes wrong. The key things to check:
- Maximum tow distance per incident
- Whether towing goes to your preferred shop or only authorized dealers
- Annual incident limits (some programs cap at 4-5 calls per year)
- Whether coverage transfers if you sell the vehicle
- Expiration date – year and mileage
Know When to Use It and When to Skip It
Dealership roadside assistance is best used for short-distance situations within your coverage term – a dead battery near home, a flat tire in a parking lot, a lockout at a shopping center. It’s not the right tool for a breakdown 40 miles from home, a long-distance recovery, or any situation where you want control over the destination.
If you’re outside the coverage window or need more than 15 miles of towing, calling an independent company directly is faster and gives you more control. Understanding what happens when you get your car towed – including what to ask and what paperwork to get – prepares you for either scenario.
✅ Dealership Towing Checklist
Have this information ready before you need it:
- Roadside assistance phone number saved in your phone
- Your warranty expiration date (year and mileage)
- Tow distance limit under your specific program
- Whether your preferred mechanic is an authorized repair facility
- Your auto insurance roadside add-on status (call to verify)
- A backup towing company number for situations outside coverage
When Dealerships Don’t Offer Towing at All
Used car dealerships, independent lots, and some smaller franchise dealers may not include any roadside assistance with a vehicle purchase. If you’re buying used and the vehicle comes without manufacturer warranty coverage, assume you have no dealership towing benefit and plan accordingly.
In those cases, your options are:
- Add roadside assistance to your auto insurance policy – typically $5-$15 per month
- Join a standalone roadside program like AAA or a similar service
- Rely on a local towing company – keep a number saved before you need it
It’s also worth knowing your rights. If a vehicle is towed from a private lot without your consent, that’s a different situation entirely – our guide on illegal towing practices covers what dealerships and towing companies are and aren’t permitted to do.
Geyers Towing: When Dealership Coverage Isn’t Enough
Dealership towing gets you 15 miles. We get you anywhere you need to go, any time, with no distance limits. Geyers Towing serves Montgomery County, Frederick County, and the surrounding Maryland and Northern Virginia area – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If your dealership towing has expired, doesn’t reach your destination, or you just want a company you can call directly without going through a third-party dispatch, contact us here or call (301) 540-1600.
Frequently Asked Questions: Do Dealerships Offer Towing?
Do all car dealerships offer towing?
Most new car dealerships include towing through the manufacturer’s roadside assistance program bundled with the warranty. Used car dealerships and independent lots typically do not. If you’re buying used, check specifically whether any roadside benefit is included before assuming you have coverage.
How far will a dealership tow your car?
The standard limit is 15 miles or transport to the nearest authorized repair facility – whichever is shorter. Some manufacturers extend this slightly, but 15 miles is the common benchmark. If your breakdown is farther from home than that, the dealership tow may not get you where you actually need to go.
Does dealership towing expire?
Yes. Dealership towing coverage is tied to the vehicle warranty, typically expiring at 3 years / 36,000 miles for most manufacturers, though some extend to 5 years / 60,000 miles.
Once that term ends, calling the dealership’s roadside number will either connect you to a paid service or simply not be available. Check your specific warranty terms to know your expiration date.
Can a dealership tow your car to a mechanic of your choice?
Generally no – dealership towing programs are designed to deliver your vehicle to the nearest authorized repair facility or back to the dealership itself. They are not set up to transport vehicles to independent mechanics. If you want control over where your car goes, calling an independent towing service directly gives you that flexibility.
Does dealership roadside assistance cover towing after an accident?
Usually not. Dealership roadside assistance is designed for mechanical breakdowns – dead batteries, flat tires, lockouts, and short-distance tows when the vehicle won’t start.
Accident towing typically falls under your auto insurance policy’s collision or non-collision coverage. Contact your insurer first after an accident to understand what’s covered before calling for a tow.
What happens if my car breaks down outside the dealership’s towing radius?
If your breakdown is beyond the 15-mile coverage window, the dealership program will typically tow you to the nearest authorized shop within their radius – not your destination. You would then need to arrange and pay for a second tow to get where you actually want to go.
The simpler approach is to call an independent towing company directly, which can take you anywhere in one trip. For a breakdown on a major Maryland highway, our guide on handling a breakdown on I-270 walks through your options.
Is it better to use dealership towing or call a tow truck company directly?
Use your dealership coverage when it applies – it’s free, you’ve already paid for it, and it works fine for short-distance situations within your warranty period. Call a tow company directly when you need to go further than 15 miles, when you want to choose your own repair shop, when your coverage has expired, or when response time matters and you don’t want to go through a third-party dispatch. For most breakdown situations, knowing both numbers is the right answer.
Do dealerships tow cars that aren’t running for trade-in or sale?
Not as a free service. If you’re bringing a non-running vehicle to a dealership for trade-in, you’ll need to arrange and pay for the tow yourself.
Some dealers will negotiate the towing cost into the deal, but that’s at their discretion. Our overview of getting your car towed covers what to expect from the process and what questions to ask upfront.
