24 Hour Car Recovery in London
Cars, vans and 4x4s recovered anywhere in London, on the M25 and across the motorway network, at any hour. The full price is agreed on the phone before anyone sets off, from £80, with no call-out fee.
- No call-out fee
- Price agreed first
- Fully insured operators
- 24/7/365
CityGrip Recovery provides 24 hour car recovery in London. We recover cars, vans and 4x4s from every London postcode, all 32 boroughs, the M25 and the wider motorway network, at any time of day or night. Car recovery and towing starts from £80 and a jump start from £60, with no call-out fee on any job. The full figure, including mileage to the destination you choose, is worked out and agreed on the phone before anyone sets off, so the number you are quoted is the number you pay. If your vehicle was damaged in an accident that was not your fault, the recovery costs you nothing. Call or WhatsApp 07960 200253 with your location and vehicle details.
What car recovery actually costs in London
Car recovery and towing starts from £80. That base figure covers attending the vehicle, loading it and moving it a short local distance. A longer journey adds mileage to whichever address you nominate, and the two are added together and agreed with you before anyone leaves. There is no call-out fee, so you are never charged twice for the same journey. The other jobs are priced the same way: a jump start from £60, fuel delivery from £70 to £200 including a set amount of fuel, wrong fuel draining quoted on the call because it depends on tank size and whether the engine was started, and mobile tyre fitting from £140 on ordinary roads or £250 to £750 on a motorway, where the work involves traffic management and a far more exposed roadside.
It is worth being straight about what £80 means in this city. Independent London cost guides put a short central London recovery at roughly £140 to £180, and a local outer London job at roughly £110 to £160. The usual UK market structure is a call-out fee of about £75 to £150 followed by around £1.50 to £2.50 for every mile, which is why so many people are surprised by the final invoice. Our approach is one agreed number instead of a meter. We would rather quote you £150 on the phone and be right than quote £80 and add to it once the truck is already at your kerb.
London costs more than the national average for real reasons, not invented ones. There is often nowhere legal to stop and load, so the loading point has to be found first. One-way systems and box junctions turn 200 metres into a mile. A car in a basement bay has to be brought up to street level before it can go anywhere near a flatbed. The return leg through traffic takes as long as the outward one. Give us the postcode or nearest junction, the make and model, whether the car rolls and steers, and the destination address, and the quote you get on the phone will hold.
Had a non-fault accident? Your recovery is free.
If another driver was at fault, CityGrip arranges free recovery, secure storage, a like-for-like courtesy car and full claims management, with every cost recovered from the at-fault driver’s insurer. You pay nothing, and your no-claims bonus stays intact.
How long you will wait, and where we cover
How quickly a recovery truck reaches you in London depends on where the vehicle is, the time of day and whether it is sitting in live traffic. A car blocking a lane on the North Circular at eight in the morning is treated differently from one parked safely on a residential street at two in the morning. We will not publish a blanket arrival time, because any national figure is meaningless once the Blackwall approach or the Euston Road is involved. When you call, you get a realistic arrival window for your actual location, confirmed before the truck leaves, and a call back if anything changes on the way.
Coverage is every London postcode and all 32 boroughs, from the Congestion Charge zone out to the suburbs, plus the M25 and the main A-roads that carry most of the capital's breakdowns: the A406 North Circular, the A205 South Circular, the A13, the A12, the A40 and the A2. We also cover work that starts in London and finishes elsewhere in the country. Our north London, east London, south London and central London recovery pages go into the local detail for each area, including the junctions and roads we are called to most often.
What to do while you wait for the truck
On an ordinary London road, get the vehicle to what Highway Code rule 275 calls a place of relative safety, which means somewhere you, your passengers and the car are less exposed to moving traffic. Rule 276 covers the rest: hazard warning lights on, wear something high-visibility if you have it, and place a warning triangle at least 45 metres behind the vehicle on the same side of the road. Get out on the pavement side, not the traffic side, and keep passengers away from the carriageway. On a dual carriageway or a red route with fast-moving traffic, stand behind a barrier where there is one rather than beside the car.
On a motorway the rules change completely. Rule 277 says move left, leave by the left-hand doors, and get behind the barrier. A warning triangle must never be placed on a motorway, and you should not attempt repairs on the hard shoulder or in an emergency area. If you cannot get the vehicle to the left-hand side, stay inside with your seat belt on and hazard lights running, and call 999. Those are not our house rules, they are the published national ones, and they exist because the hard shoulder is the single most dangerous place a driver can stand.
Broken down on the M25, a smart motorway or in a tunnel
From an emergency area or the hard shoulder, use the free orange SOS telephone where one is provided, or call National Highways on 0300 123 5000 from a mobile. They can see the location, warn approaching traffic and pass the details on. Do not rejoin the carriageway from an emergency area without instruction from the control room. They can set a Red X to close lane one and give you a safe gap to pull out into, which you simply cannot create for yourself from a standing start next to traffic doing 70mph. When you call us, the two details that matter most are the junction number and the direction of travel, because a junction on the anticlockwise M25 is a different job from the same junction clockwise.
Tunnels are their own category. Vehicle breakdowns are a leading cause of unplanned Blackwall Tunnel closures, and TfL has recorded that around a third of those closures were simply vehicles that had run out of fuel. The northbound bore carries a 4.0 metre height limit in the nearside lane, reduced to about 2.8 metres in the offside lane because of the bends, while southbound is about 4.72 metres. A stopped vehicle in a tunnel is handled by the tunnel control room first, so follow their instructions and the loudspeaker announcements, then call us once you have been told where the vehicle will be brought out to.
Red routes, the Congestion Charge and ULEZ
Double red lines mean no stopping at any time. TfL states plainly that they operate every day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and do not require a time plate or sign. The exceptions TfL publishes are narrow: Blue Badge holders being set down or picked up, licensed taxis and some private hire vehicles dropping off and picking up, and stopping in marked bays. There is no published blanket breakdown exemption, so no honest operator can promise you immunity from a penalty charge notice. What genuinely helps is getting the vehicle cleared quickly and keeping the recovery invoice with its date and time on it, because a genuine breakdown is a recognised ground for challenging a PCN after the event.
The Congestion Charge is £18 per day if you pay on the day of travel or in advance, rising to £21 if you pay by midnight on the third day after travel. It runs 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00 to 18:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, with no charge at all between Christmas Day and the New Year's Day bank holiday. ULEZ is a separate £12.50 per day and operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year except Christmas Day, across all London boroughs, though it does not include the M25 itself.
Roadside recovery vehicles registered in DVLA tax class 47 qualify for a 100% Congestion Charge discount from TfL, and a 100% discount on the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnel charges, subject to a £10 annual registration fee per vehicle. Accredited breakdown organisations certified to BS EN ISO 9001 receive the same discount on the same terms. That is why a compliant recovery operator has no reason to add a Congestion Charge surcharge to a central London job, and we do not add one. On the separate question of whether your own vehicle attracts a charge while it is being carried, TfL does not publish a clear position on trailered or towed vehicles, so we will not tell you it is definitely free. Check your own account if you are concerned.
Underground car parks, mews streets and gated developments
Underground and multi-storey car parks in the UK typically carry a height barrier of 1.9 to 2.2 metres, with about two metres the common figure. A standard flatbed cannot pass under that, so recovery from a basement or an upper deck is normally done by winching or manoeuvring the casualty vehicle to an external loading point at street level and loading it there. Ramp gradient and the turning space around structural pillars are just as limiting as the barrier itself, and a long-wheelbase car in a corner bay on level minus three is a genuinely different job from the same car on the street. There is no single statutory car park height in the UK, so we work from what is actually there rather than an assumption.
The same applies to the streets themselves. Mews, permit-only bays, narrow Victorian terraces with cars parked both sides, gated developments, and basement bays behind a shutter are the everyday reality of inner London. Tell us the car park or estate name, the level and bay, whether the car rolls and steers, and who can open the barrier or gate, because a concierge or a code is often the difference between a 20 minute job and an abandoned one. Where a street is too tight for a flatbed to stand legally, the vehicle is moved to the nearest point where a truck can load safely. If a job needs skates, dollies or extra hands, we would rather work that out on the phone and price it then than surprise you at the kerbside.
Electric, hybrid, automatic and awkward vehicles
Electric vehicles and most hybrids are recovered on a flatbed with all four wheels off the ground. The engineering reason is straightforward: driven wheels turning while a vehicle is being towed can spin the motor as a generator, which is why manufacturers commonly restrict conventional towing. Check your own handbook for your model rather than relying on a general rule. When you call, tell us the make and model, whether the car will select neutral or has a transport or tow mode, and whether the 12 volt battery is flat, because a dead 12 volt can leave the electronic parking brake applied and the gear selector locked even when the main battery has charge.
Automatics with a locked selector, permanent four-wheel-drive vehicles with a coupled driveline, and cars with an electronic parking brake all change the equipment we send. So do the awkward cases: a car that will not go into neutral, a vehicle with no key, a seized wheel, a car that has stood in flood water, or one left on bricks after its wheels were stolen. None of those are refusals, they are simply different jobs, usually done with skates or dollies onto a flatbed. If the car has been in flood water, do not try to start it, because that is what turns a recoverable engine into a written-off one. Say what you are dealing with when you call and the right kit turns up first time.
Accidents: who pays for recovery, and what happens to storage
If a collision was your fault, or nobody else is liable, the recovery cost falls to you or to your own comprehensive policy, and a one-off job at these prices is usually far less than people fear. If it was not your fault, the position is different. Section 145(3)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires a compulsory motor policy to insure against liability for damage to property caused by or arising out of the use of a vehicle on a road or other public place, and reasonable recovery and storage costs after a non-fault collision are pursued against the at-fault driver's insurer under that liability, subject to the reasonableness test and your duty to mitigate your loss. In practice that means non-fault recovery costs the claimant nothing.
Storage is the part people get caught out by, because it is charged per day and only recoverable so far as it is reasonable. A vehicle should not sit accruing storage while nothing happens; it should be inspected and a repair or total loss decision reached. Charges presented within ABI General Terms of Agreement rates are far less likely to be challenged by the paying insurer. The GTA is the framework signed between the Association of British Insurers, insurers and credit hire organisations, setting agreed processes and standardised rates by vehicle group, with provisions covering recovery and storage, and it is reviewed annually. That is the practical reason to let a GTA-aware operator handle the recovery rather than paying a random invoice yourself and arguing about it months later.
Keep the evidence while it is easy to get: photographs of both vehicles and the road layout, the other driver's registration, name and insurer, any police reference number, and the recovery invoice. Remember also that section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires you to stop and give your name and address after an accident causing injury or damage, and if you did not give those details at the scene, to report it to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours. We recover the vehicle and put you in touch with our sister claims service at citygripclaims.co.uk, which handles the claim itself. We do not give insurance or legal advice, and if liability is genuinely disputed you will be told that plainly rather than strung along.
Vans, long-distance moves, pounds, and how to tell a real operator from a broker
We recover vans, 4x4s and light commercials as well as cars. What decides the equipment is weight and dimensions plus whether the vehicle is loaded, so a laden Luton, a long-wheelbase van with a roof rack, or a twin-axle pickup is a different proposition from a hatchback. Tell us the model and roughly what is in the back and you will get a straight answer, including if it needs something larger than a standard flatbed. Long-distance work out of London, whether that is London to Manchester, London to Birmingham or a non-runner going to a specialist, is priced on the total mileage and agreed in full before anyone sets off, and non-emergency moves can be booked for a time slot rather than treated as a call-out.
Pound releases are worth naming separately because two different regimes get confused. Statutory police removal charges are set by government: for a vehicle up to 3,500kg found on a road, upright and not substantially damaged, removal is £192, storage is £26 for each 24 hour period or part of one, and disposal is £96. London borough parking removals are a separate and dearer regime, and Kensington and Chelsea, for example, charges £280 to release a vehicle from the car pound plus £55 per day storage. Those charges are payable to the pound, not to us. If the vehicle cannot lawfully be driven away once released, we recover it, and our police impound and council pound page sets out the documents you will need to bring.
Finally, know who you are actually calling. Many recovery numbers online belong to call centres that sell the job on, which is how a price quoted on the phone becomes a different price at the kerbside. Four questions sort it out: who is physically coming, does the quoted price change on arrival, is my vehicle covered while it is on the truck, and does the operator work to PAS 43. PAS 43:2018 is the BSI management system specification for safe working of vehicle breakdown, recovery and removal operations, written after six operator deaths in a single year, and it covers recovery vehicle and equipment type and maintenance, technician training and competence, personal protective equipment and operating procedures. BS 7901:2002 covers the recovery vehicles and equipment themselves, and recovery vehicles built from January 2004 onwards should comply with it. Ask us those questions on the call and you will get a direct answer. Have ready your exact location or what3words, the postcode or nearest junction and direction of travel, the make, model and fuel type, whether the car rolls and steers, whether you have the key, the destination address, and anything about access such as a barrier, gate or permit bay. Payment is on completion by cash, card or bank transfer, with a receipt suitable for an insurance or expenses claim.
Frequently asked questions
How much does car recovery cost in London?
Car recovery and towing with CityGrip starts from £80 and a jump start starts from £60, with no call-out fee on any job. The £80 covers attending the vehicle, loading it and a short local move; a longer journey adds mileage to whichever address you choose. The full figure is worked out and agreed on the phone before anyone sets off, so there is no surprise at the kerbside. Call 07960 200253 for a price on your job.
How much does car recovery cost per mile in the UK?
The usual UK market structure is a call-out fee of roughly £75 to £150 plus around £1.50 to £2.50 for every mile travelled, which is why final invoices often surprise people. We work differently. You are given one figure for the whole job, including the mileage to your destination, and it is agreed on the phone before the truck leaves. There is no separate call-out fee and no meter running while you wait.
How much does recovery cost if I have no breakdown cover?
You pay for the single job rather than an annual policy, and it is usually less than people expect. Recovery and towing starts from £80, a jump start from £60, and there is no call-out fee. If the fault is something that can be sorted at the roadside, such as a flat battery, you may not need a recovery at all. Ask for the full figure when you call and you will get it before committing.
How much does it cost to recover a car to a garage, and can I choose which garage?
Yes, you choose the destination. We will take the vehicle to your own garage, a main dealer, a tyre fitter, your home address or anywhere else in or outside London. The price is the base recovery from £80 plus the mileage to that address, agreed before we set off. If the garage is closed when we arrive, a key drop can usually be arranged, so mention it on the call.
How long does car recovery take to arrive in London?
It depends on where the vehicle is, the time of day and whether it is sitting in live traffic. We do not quote a blanket arrival time, because a national average figure means nothing on the North Circular at rush hour. When you call 07960 200253 you are given a realistic arrival window for your exact location, it is confirmed before the truck sets off, and you are called back if anything changes on the way.
Do you offer 24 hour car recovery in London?
Yes. We operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including nights, weekends and bank holidays. The price does not go up because it is three in the morning or because it is a bank holiday, and there is no call-out fee at any hour. Call or WhatsApp 07960 200253.
Will I get a penalty charge notice if I break down on a red route?
It is possible. Double red lines mean no stopping at any time, and TfL states they operate every day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year without needing a time plate. TfL publishes no blanket breakdown exemption, so nobody can honestly promise you immunity. What helps is clearing the vehicle quickly and keeping the recovery invoice with its date and time, because a genuine breakdown is a recognised ground for challenging a PCN afterwards.
Does the Congestion Charge or ULEZ affect recovery in central London?
The Congestion Charge is £18 per day paid on the day or in advance, or £21 if paid by midnight on the third day after travel, and it runs 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00 to 18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays. ULEZ is £12.50 per day, 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day. Roadside recovery vehicles in DVLA tax class 47 hold a 100% Congestion Charge discount from TfL, so we do not add a Congestion Charge surcharge to a central London job.
Can you recover a car from an underground or multi-storey car park?
Usually yes. Height barriers are typically 1.9 to 2.2 metres, so a flatbed cannot drive in. The vehicle is winched or manoeuvred to an external loading point at street level and loaded there instead. Ramp gradients and the turning space around pillars matter as much as the barrier height. Tell us the car park name, the level and bay, whether the car rolls and steers, and who can open the barrier or shutter.
Can you recover an electric or hybrid car?
Yes. Electric and most hybrid vehicles are recovered on a flatbed with all four wheels off the ground, because driven wheels turning during a tow can spin the motor as a generator. Check your own handbook for your specific model. When booking, tell us the make and model, whether the car will select neutral or has a transport mode, and whether the 12 volt battery is flat, as that can leave the electronic parking brake applied.
What if the car will not go into neutral, or I have lost the key?
That is a normal job rather than a problem, but it changes the equipment we bring. A car that will not select neutral, has a seized wheel, an electronic parking brake stuck on, no key, or missing wheels is moved with skates or dollies and loaded onto a flatbed. Say so when you call and the right kit arrives first time, at the price you were quoted, rather than needing a second visit.
Who pays for car recovery after an accident?
If the collision was not your fault, recovery and storage are pursued against the at-fault driver's insurer, so it costs you nothing. Section 145 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires a motor policy to cover liability for property damage arising out of the use of a vehicle, and reasonable recovery costs fall within that, subject to the reasonableness test. If you were at fault, or nobody else is liable, the cost falls to you or to your own comprehensive policy.
Who pays storage fees after a car accident?
After a non-fault accident the at-fault driver's insurer is normally responsible for reasonable storage, which is charged per day. Reasonable is the operative word: you have a duty to mitigate your loss, so the vehicle should not sit in storage longer than it takes to inspect it and reach a repair or total loss decision. Charges presented within ABI General Terms of Agreement rates are far less likely to be challenged by the paying insurer.
Do I have to be with the car when it is recovered?
It is easier if you are, because you can hand over the key, confirm the destination and point out anything the driver needs to know. If you cannot be there, it can usually still be arranged. We need your authority as the keeper or driver, a practical way to get the key, and someone able to receive the vehicle at the other end. Explain the situation on the call and you will be told exactly what is needed.
Can you recover an untaxed, uninsured or MOT-failed car?
A vehicle carried on a flatbed with all four wheels off the ground is not being driven on the road, which is why recovery is the sensible route for a car that has failed its MOT, has no tax, or has no insurance in force. Driving it yourself, or having a friend pull it on a rope, is where people get into trouble. Tell us the situation on the call and it will be handled properly.
Is it illegal to tow a car with a rope?
Rope towing is regulated rather than banned outright, and it is still a bad idea. Regulation 86 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 states that where a trailer is attached solely by a rope or chain, the gap must not exceed 4.5 metres, and must not exceed 1.5 metres unless the rope is made clearly visible to other road users. With its engine off, the towed car loses brake servo assistance and power steering, which is why professionals use a flatbed or a rigid A-frame instead.
Can you recover my car from a police pound or a council pound?
Yes. Note that the charges are payable to the pound, not to us, and the two regimes differ. Statutory police removal charges for a vehicle up to 3,500kg found on a road, upright and not substantially damaged, are £192 removal, £26 storage for each 24 hour period or part of one, and £96 disposal. Borough parking removals cost more, for example Kensington and Chelsea charges £280 to release plus £55 per day storage. Our pound recovery page lists the documents to bring.
Do you recover vans and 4x4s, and can you do long-distance recovery out of London?
Yes to both. We recover vans, 4x4s and light commercials as well as cars, and the equipment is decided by weight, dimensions and whether the vehicle is loaded, so tell us the model and what is in the back. Long-distance work such as London to Manchester or London to Birmingham is priced on total mileage and agreed in full before setting off, and non-emergency moves can be booked for a time slot rather than as an emergency call-out.
Updated August 2026. Lines open 24 hours. Call 07960 200253.
Stuck in London right now? Call 07960 200253
Available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, across every London postcode and the M25. Tell us where you are and what you are driving and you get the full price before anyone sets off: recovery and towing from £80, no call-out fee, and nothing at all to pay if the accident was not your fault.