I had the pleasure of doing business with this fine establishment (not voluntarily by the way) a couple weeks ago. My review is as follows:
My family and I were leaving for the weekend for our annual desert camping trip and my husband moved my car to a guest parking spot in our community so he could hook up his baja to his truck to tow with us to the desert for some good old relaxing family fun. Well he forgot to move it back before we left or put that tiny little guest tag in the windshield. Harmless silly mistake at best and first time he's ever done it. I suppose he was excited to get the kids on the road to celebrate a stress free weekend with family.
As we were in the desert on our relaxing weekend enjoying deep fried turkey with all the fixings, this company was summoned to tow my poor criminal car....who was merely guilty of accidentally being left in guest parking without a tag in a community where guest parking is aplenty.
We arrive home Sunday (later to find out only about 6 hours or so after my guilty law breaking vehicle was towed) and my husband realized what he did. He made some calls and found my carnapped vehicle. It was taken to this place of business. When my husband got a hold of someone here, he was told since they were closed on Sundays (I guess only to get your car back timely, not carnap your car on a Sunday morning) that the ransom would be somewhere around $360 (don't remember the exact quote) but if we waited until normal business hours the next day, it would only be $285. $285 I thought....what a deal! To let them keep my trusty vehicle one extra day instead of getting groceries for my family or taking my kids to the park, I get to be stranded for a discount! Amazing, I thought. What an offer and we accepted this fine gentleman's offer to pick up my vehicle the next morning. Groceries and family fun are overrated anyways.
So the next morning we show up about a half hour after opening. We would of been there at opening but we couldn't find this place. It gives a street address but we drove by not finding it. They really should change their address to "located directly behind shadiest, least legit looking used car sales lot on Arrow Hwy". That may help future customers of yours, guys. Just a suggestion. Anyways, we pull up between 2 not so attractive buildings into a small dirt lot with a rusty shack. My husband parks along a wall that says "no parking" but we weren't sure where to park exactly. I thought maybe the "no parking" wall was a way for them to drum up more business for themselves if you know what I mean. We kept a sharp eye on my husband's truck so as to make sure it did not meet the same fate as my poor car.
We spoke to the mysterious man in the rusty shack. It was cool, I felt like I was in a back alleyway making drug deals with a hidden drug lord. If I would have known, i would've had it recorded for an audition for an upcoming low budget crime movie. It was exciting and scary all at the same time. I asked the mysterious man some questions, none of which he knew the answers to. He definitely played the mysterious persona well. Kudos. I suppose I'm used to tow truck companies being friendly and doing good. Helping people in dangerous situations and such. The not so helpful mysterious shack man gave me a bill of $235. Wow! That was cheaper than I was told the day before. It was because a law enforcement family member called and explained to another person what happened and I was given a $50 law enforcement discount. They really do appreciate law enforcement for only charging $235 instead of $285!
The mysterious rusty shack man finally emerges and opens the gate to a sad dirt lot where my car sat, lonely and abandoned for 1 whole day. I got in my car, apologized to it, and wondered why the $235 didn't even include a car wash, or a simple vacuuming from all the dirt, or even some air freshener to mask the filth of the establishment. I then wondered why at the rates they charge for their "services" they can't afford to at least update the place a bit, make it bit more welcoming or legit feeling. I felt ripped off at best for the services I received for how much I paid. I'm sure after a few more "customers", surely they will consider my suggestion.
In conclusion, I do not recommend this business. $235 for a simple mistake is a bit steep. We even brought in our lease agreement and permits and I explained I had never been towed before. The mysterious man showed no mercy on me. If anything, this experience gave me a whole different outlook on tow truck drivers. There are ones who help you in a time of need. There are others who cash in heavily on simple mistakes and hold your car hostage. Now every time I see an Arrow Towing truck, I will be SURE to thank them for their "services" that I never wanted. read more