Dave’s Tow-A-Way

Ehh. It took them 70 minutes to respond via AAA. Other than that, the service was fine.

I figure towing companies often hear the complaints, so today I had the pleasant surprise of this company showing up earlier than anticipated to tow my car to my mechanic. He had the unenviable task of getting a big truck into a small driveway, and he scraped just a bit of my grass and driveway as he left, but he did great other than that, so thanks!

Car broke down causing bloccked lane and thus traffic back ups. Dave’s towing arrived at the estimated time (45 minute wait). Fast loading of car, friendly and helpful people both on phone and in person. Delivered car to destination. Smooth and fast. I hope I never need them again but if I do I would not hesitate to call them.

HORRENDOUS EXPERIENCE!!! Called AAA and they sent THEM! At 1^st the guy was nice. Everything seemed very professional, minus taking a long time to show up. It was my birthday and I was easy going and trusting. The pleasant experience quickly turned to disappointment. The guy from DAVE’S TOW AWAY damaged the paint on my car w the car jack handle. In the midst of dealing w AAA in regards to setting up a tow, trying to figure out the game plan for what to do next, and just letting the guy do his job, no one noticed the damage. It wasn’t until after the guy had left when I walked my gf to the car the I noticed the chipped paint. Figd it was an honest mistake. We filed a claim with AAA. The next Mon a lady called from DAVE’S TOW AWAY, very aggressive sounding. I sent her pics of the damage and she was like «we use aluminum poles, not steel, that couldn’t have been us». Said the person that normally handles these things is on vaca and it would be a week till they could do anything. The following Mon a gentleman called. Asking what happened and said he saw pics and was so focused on it being a hole, that he kept talking and not listening to what I was saying. He said, it would take force and that someone would have heard/​felt the impact to make a hole «. I said yes, but it isn’t a hole is just broken paint. Doesn’t take much to do that. I finally realized I was not going to get anywhere w them. We filed more claims w AAA, which prompted DAVE’S TOW AWAY to call my gf, the policy holder. The guy was very rude to her and claimed he and I came to an understanding that it was impossible that they did it it. Which IS A LIE. But considering that in dealing with them this wasn’t the 1^st fallacy, I want surprised. In conclusion, DAVE’S TOW AWAY is unprofessional, unwilling to own up to actions done by their employees, untrustworthy and useless. If AAA sends them to you make sure you keep your eyes on them so that when they damage your vehicle you can have eyewitness proof.

Conclusion: unreliable towing service, poor customer service.
Needed a tow for my wife’s car. Called and they said it would be a 45 minute wait. OK, fine. I waited 90 minutes and called again and was told, «7 or 8 more minutes.» I waited another ~20 minutes and called AGAIN and was AGAIN told, «7 or 8 more minutes!» The truck finally showed up ~10 minutes after that. I asked the driver what took so long, and he just said, «we’re busy.» I talked to the dispatcher and she said, «I’m not sure what took so long, sometimes we get busy and other calls come in.» Which sounds to me like they either forgot about me or intentionally left me hanging when other calls came in.
I tried to follow up with the supervisor to express my dissatisfaction and ask for a refund. It took several calls, each time with a promise that «somebody will get back to you,» or, «we’ll look into it and let you know what we find.»
Finally about 3 weeks later, I got the supervisor on the line. I explained that I was unhappy that I was left waiting more than 1 hr longer than I was told, and I politely but firmly asked for a small refund to compensate me for my time. He gave a mediocre apology but refused to offer any kind of refund, saying, «we have lots of people who call to complain, so if I gave a refund to you I’d have to give refunds to all of them.» I told him, «OK, but I think it’s only fair that I tell you that I’m going to leave negative reviews for you online,» to which he basically said, «ok, you do what you have to do.»
If there’s anything good to say, I guess it’s to their credit that they did take the car to the correct destination, so that’s something…
All in all, don’t go to Dave’s Tow-​a-​way in Durham, NC. Having to call a towing company is rarely a positive experience, but I think there must be better ones out there.

I called Dave’s Towing yesterday for a vehicle tow. I was told that it would be 45 minutes to an hour wait for them to arrive. After an hour and a half I called and asked about where the truck was. I was told they were at a location I could easily get to in 15 minutes with a working vehicle and would be there in 20 minutes. I told the dispatcher that I was trying to get my vehicle to a garage before they closed at 5pm and to please convey the message to the driver. Another 30 minutes passed and I called again. This time the dispatcher was rude to me and told me that I don’t understand heavy traffic. When I first called it was 2:45 in the afternoon and we don’t have that kind of traffic in Durham. The truck finally arrived well after 5pm and there was no apology for the wait. Instead I had to stand around for another 15 minutes waiting for the dispatcher to take the driver off of hold so they could run my credit card.
Unless you don’t mind sitting broke down on the side of the road in the blazing heat for 2.5 hours I’d call somebody else.

Try to avoid this establishment. They work with AAA emergency towing, so you may end up with them. However, do not agree to tow to their lot. They will not let you to take your car out on weekends. They will try to milk you as much as they can before releasing your vehicle.

AVOID AT ALL COST.
This place is an absolute shit hole. The «office» and storage facilities are better described as a meth lab posing as a junkyard.
They also demanded cash only despite having signs saying they accept checks and a card reader visible on the front desk.

Just a little late from the 70 minutes, but gave us a ride to the repair shop and our driver was great. Thanks man

These guys promised to be there within a certain period of time (70 minutes) and then they called to say that they decided to tow someone else first. Stay away.

My car broke down on highway 751 and I called AAA. I got Dave’s Tow-​A-​Way and their response was much quicker than the estimated 45 minutes. Jimmy showed up and was nice, respectful, and understanding. I would highly recommend them.

Recently had a tow performed on the afternoon of 09/​15, via my insurance company roadside. I had no contact with the office or dispatch of Dave’s — so I honestly cannot comment on that side of the company. I can offer that their recovery specialist (Steve) arrived on time with a decent rig, was polite, and easy to get along with. If my experience with Steve is common for Dave’s, they are surely worth a try.

40 year-​old woman alone and stranded in RTP at 9 pm when 2 year-​old car unexpectedly died. Didn’t know who to call, since recently moved to area, so played internet bingo and called Dave’s. Was told 30 minutes and they were right on time. Gave me a ride to a safe place. Price was as stated and was very reasonable for a tow from RTP to a car dealership in Durham. Staff very helpful and friendly and made a stressful, un-​fun experience much lower stress and not so bad. Would call them again in a heartbeat.

Worst tow company. They had me wait for over one hour to get the service and I called three times to ask where is the driver. Finally they told me that the have to change the original driver without even letting me know. Never had such a bad experience before! Will NEVER use this company!

Called AAA for a flat tire change and Dave’s was sent. I wish I would’ve gotten the gentleman’s name who came because he was friendly, polite, respectful of my vehicle (careful not to scratch, get dirt inside, etc). I couldn’t have asked for a better experience considering I was dealing with an unexpected flat. From the time I called AAA until the time my tire was changed was around 45 minutes. I was thrilled with how quickly they got there.

Broke down on University and Chapel Hill Road in Durham at 8:15pm. This intersection is amazingly dangerous. Used AAA to get a tow, which turned out to be Dave’s. We were told it will take 45 minutes, which was reasonable for a Friday night. Then were called back and told 10 minutes about 10 minutes after the first estimate. The tow was late, not due to Dave’s but due to going to University and Chapel Hill, not Duke University and Chapel Hill, which I did not describe earlier.
The tow arrived and already apologized for being late. It was all my fault, but Larry was happy to help out. He asked where I wanted to have it dropped off and asked to fill out some information for him to give to the garage. He was ready to go in 10 minutes and helped me identify the issue with the car.
Great service and accurate times. If I ever need another tow, Dave’s will get my business!

I’m so happy for Kenny, Bill and Dave. I feel so badly for Marisa though. Yikes. I’m sure Dave’s has other very awesome people that work there. And I’ll even say that everyone has a bad day but…
Dear Lady Dispatcher,
Please don’t say you’re sorry I made an «assumption» because you told me I’d get a tow truck in 20 – 25 minutes so when I called 10 minutes later to ask for a specific ETA (btw, I had to follow-​up since you were already 10 minutes behind the initial ETA and the garage was going to stay open for us to drop off the car), you hadn’t even located a tow truck and stuck to your 20 – 25 minutes — «it’ll get there when it gets there attitude». You even told me to sit patiently in my house since I was safe. How you had to take care of the elderly, or the people with infants or children in the middle of nowhere/​dangerous freeways, how one of your drivers had gotten in a car wreck, etc, etc, etc. First, I didn’t assume anything. You told me how long it’d take, which wasn’t even accurate, and got upset when I called you out on the fact that no one was coming any time soon. Second, I wasn’t comparing myself to anyone in danger/​peril/​urgency and was terribly sorry your driver got in a wreck. I just had to know the timing of things so I could call someone else in the car service industry (your peer) and not have him wait unnecessarily.
I let you go off on a rant, even though I’d had a miserable day myself. I calmly (hooray for me!) told you I didn’t want to upset you and to go ahead and get me off the schedule. I did tell you straight up you were being rude. I’ll add that you were incredibly unprofessional. Yes, everybody has bad days. I’m hoping you had one or else that was really bad. But should I tell you about my specific current situation and how you’re not the only one dealing with X, Y or Z?
The difference, Lady Dispatcher, is that you are the face of the company. You’re the one in a customer service position. If you can’t get a hold of your emotions, then please let someone else field the calls. It’s not fair to «Dave». If it’s your business, then perhaps you need to delegate some. We’ve been self-​employed for 20+ years and know. I hope you are otherwise a very nice person and maybe feel badly about what happened. Sadly though, I had to ask for a different tow truck company which will surely be on time and have a better personal interaction with me.

Called at 12:15 and said that would arrive in 30mins. Called around 1:15 to see where the tow guy was — lady on the phone said he is on his way but had to make another stop. Didn’t apologize for the inconvenience at all! Now, common sense would have told you to call us and let the customer know there was a change in the schedule. We do have other things that would could be doing. Guy doesn’t show up till 2:10. PISSED OFF! However the tow guy was very nice — thats the only reason why I gave them another star. Will never recommend to anyone.

Dave’s Tow-​A-​Way gave us the worst service we’ve ever had. We had a flat tire as well as some engine trouble (I won’t bore you with the technical details as to how this happened, but they happened simultaneously) in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. Dave’s showed up to take us to a repair center. The driver had his fiancée in the car (unprofessional much?) and bragged about what a great company Dave’s is, and how they have a monopoly on the market (who cares?). When we arrived at the tire center, it was closed. The driver did not attempt to put on the spare or give us a jump, per our request. He also did not offer to tow us to an open store. Instead he unloaded our car, told us he had to go, and drove away before we had any say in the matter. This closed tire store was at the end of a scary-​looking street by the side of the freeway (scary= abandoned, desolate, good place to get mugged) — not a great place to be left alone with a broken car. We had to call a different towing company to get us towed to a store that was actually open.
Dave’s is officially the worst. Call ANYBODY else.

Fast service, good communication, and a fair price. No reservations about using them again or recommending them to others.