Allen’s Automotive & Towing

After hours service guy on the phone didn’t bother to tell me how long they’d be or what it’d cost, and was about to hang up right before I asked. Make sure you ask. It was a longer wait than my vehicle manufacturer could get me help, and cost more.

My car battery died on a day when I had 10 million things to do, and I was stranded in a parking lot in Pleasanton. Not having a lot of experience with towing companies, I called the closest one (Allen Automotive).
The truck arrived within 45 minutes, which is what they’d estimated, quickly got my car on the truckbed, and off we went to their shop in Livermore.
It was the service at the shop that really impressed me. I told the woman at the desk that I was in a huge hurry, because I had to make a long drive in a couple of hours. She got someone to look at the car right away, and sure enough, dead battery. Unrevivably dead. The guy looking at my car said they didn’t have my battery in stock, but when I mentioned my time crunch, he offered to call a shop down the street to see if they had it. They did, and rather than wait for the other shop to deliver, he went over there himself to save time.
My battery was replaced within 30 – 45 minutes, including the trip to get the battery from another shop. Super nice people, and dropped everything to provide good customer service.
I hope my car never breaks down again, but if it does, and these guys are nearby, I’d call them again in a heartbeat.

It’s not like I call towing service often. In fact this is my second call for a tow due to one of my cars blowing a clutch. My first call for towing service was Auto Towing in San Ramon which took place 2 hours prior. After unpredictable waiting time and shady price quoting, I called Allen’s Automotive & Towing Inc. I’m so glad that I did.
A dispatcher by the name of Jeff or Geoff was polite. He gave me a solid quote and assured me that he knew exactly where his drivers were via GPS. Although the tow arrived a few minutes late, the dispatcher kept me updated where his driver was.
The driver was also cool. He moved quickly and processed my credit card. His truck had a full truck bed which I prefer over the ones that tow your car on two wheels. He also was very familiar with the hood and the shop I requested for the drop off.
If you are in Dublin looking for a tow, call these guys first. You’ll regret it if you don’t. I definitely recommend these guys.
Keep in mind that towing service are not like taxis. Expect a longer wait than you would expect. Rest assured, these guys are on top of things. Just bring up all of your concerns and they will take care of you.

I’m sure it’s no fault of their own, and as appreciative as I am about the help the tow truck provided, bottom line is that the tow truck arrived almost 2 hours later than estimated.
My car decided to die at Hacienda Crossings on a Weeknight. The boy called roadside assistance for me and saved me $ 50 off my towing. The operator said the wait would be approximately 45 minutes. It’s nearly 3 am.
As stated above, I waited almost 2 hours for the tow truck to arrive.
From Dublin to Tracy – $ 200. It would have been $ 50 if it weren’t for the boy.
I was less than impressed with the service. The tow truck operator was slow as !@#$ and slightly rude. He remarked «You know this is gonna cost like $ 200 right?». Uhh, yes. He then proceeded to say «Well how are you gonna pay for it?» Uhm, I dunno, do you accept cattle as a form of payment? I mean, I am from Tracy.
Rude. I may be young, but I do have my own money.
The ride back home was awkward. He kept making excuses for the long wait, like he had to do a police impound before coming, ect, ect. Whatever. I highly suspect that this fool was sleeping, cause he was groggy as fuck.
Also, I don’t buy that «I had to do a police impound» bullcrap as an excuse for the tardiness. Village Parkway is less than 10 minutes from Hacienda Drive. I’m not stupid. Also, it’s 3 am, there’s no traffic on any street or freeway.
It took this tow truck driver over 20 minutes to unload my car in front of my house. It took him even longer to fill out some paper work that involved transcribing a license plate number and VIN. On top of that, his pen was broken.
The slower he was, the more irritated I got.
I’m not being ungrateful, like I said, I appreciate the help provided by this company, but the wait was unreasonable.
Thanks, I guess.