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Date Published: 21/09/2022

ARCHIVED - Murcia is one of the most expensive places to call out a tow truck in Spain

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Murcia city pays well above the national average for towing and storing vehicles

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Murcia is one of the most expensive places to call out a tow truck in Spain

Tow truck companies throughout Spain are poised for strike action this month, demanding higher rates from insurance agencies for the vital services they provide to drivers. If they down tools as threatened, recovery vehicles will only respond to genuine emergencies during the industrial action period, leaving motorists with flat tyres or dead batteries stranded.

Their dissatisfaction with current pay rates may indeed be justified, at least according to a study conducted by the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) which found an enormous disparity of as much as 300% between the rates paid in different cities.

In this list, Murcia came out looking particularly good, paying tow trucks an average of 127 euros for a vehicle pick-up and 25-hour storage. This is well above the national average of 117 euros and far higher than the likes of Alicante, which values this service at 122.79 euros.

Zaragoza and Barcelona are the most expensive cities to have a breakdown, as a tow truck and the subsequent storage of your vehicle will set you back 205.35 and 198 Cádiz euros, respectively. The Spanish capital is third on the list, charging 185.95 euros. Coming in at the cheaper end of the scale are Seville (131.40 euros), Cádiz (131 euros) Bilbao (127.98 euros).

The Traffic and Road Safety Law stipulates that vehicles must be removed from public roads by a tow truck if they constitute a danger, cause traffic disturbances or are parked improperly.

The cost of moving a car averages at 99.04 euros in Spain, and owners are charged an “extra penalty” if the vehicle has to be stored by the municipality for any amount of time. However, the OCU found that many cities “artificially” inflate this cost by charging motorists for a full day of parking rather than by the hour.

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Image: Pixabay

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