The car broke down abroad. How to avoid big losses and bring it faster? Where to leave the car and keys?
It is not uncommon for us to receive transfer requests from customers for a broken down car on the way back from vacation. The situation is not pleasant, especially when you break down on the highway, highway, remote areas of the city or mountain roads where communication with the city is difficult. This unpleasant situation needs to be solved here and now as soon as possible.
What are the steps?
For those who have CASCO insurance, the situation is resolved much more simply. In this case, the insurance will take care of the entire process, from finding the tow truck to transporting the car to the garage or to your home. However, what to do if you don’t have CASCO insurance, but you only have civil insurance?
With only civil insurance, the service of transporting a broken down car is not applicable in Europe, so you will have to take care of everything yourself.
The first step. You will have to use Google or other searches and contact the locals with tow trucks that perform local transportation services and arrange for them to take your car to the nearest service station.
- Tip: in many cases, if the car breakdown is complicated and the estimated costs can significantly exceed the repair prices (which is usually the case), it is recommended to take the car to the nearest secured parking lot.
- As a temporary alternative, in order not to overpay for a protected parking lot, the car can be “sheltered” in parking zones, free parking lots and parking lots. This should be done after making sure that you do not violate traffic rules and that your car will not be forced out with a tow truck. We recommend that you do not leave your car in the city center areas, on busy and hard-to-pass streets.
- Be sure to pay attention to the fact that the car is parked in a well-accessible place and that there are no problems during loading when the truck arrives.
- If the car is parked in a public parking lot, try not to leave valuables in the car, otherwise you may experience unpleasant consequences of theft.
Second step. Search for car transport services to your country.
Use a Google search or send us a transfer request. If you are “stuck” in a remote area far from big cities, you may have to be patient and be prepared that the search for a transportation service may take some time.
What should I do if I can’t find someone to bring the car quickly and I have to go home quickly? Where to leave the car and its keys?
Often, when the search takes time, you have to look for a temporary accommodation solution or a flight home. If you have decided to go home on your own and leave your car in the parking lot until the car transporter arrives in your country, we recommend:
- leave the car in a safe place, in the best case – paid guarded parking. However, if there is no such possibility, you can leave the car in a public parking lot, shop lots, well-lit places/lots of the city/district, only after making sure that parking is allowed there and there is a lower probability of theft;
- do not leave any valuables, take the car documents with you;
- after leaving the car in the guarded parking lot, the key can be left with the guard or the parking lot for the managing company. If the car is left in a public parking lot, in this case you should find a reliable place/person who will be able to keep your car key and hand it over to the truck driver when he arrives at the loading place at the agreed time.
In conclusion, having a broken down car on a long trip is definitely not a good experience, but if it does happen, everything is solvable, please contact us or send a Transportation request.
Safe travels, ETR Logistics