How to start a towing company in South Africa

How to start a towing company in South Africa

This is a guide on how to start a towing company in South Africa.

Towing companies are very important in our society, they help us transport our vehicles to the repair shops when they have broken down and sometimes offer emergency roadside assistance.

Here are some of the requirements for starting a towing company in South Africa.

1. Buy a tow truck

You can not run a towing company without having a tow truck. This is the truck that you will use tow away cars. Tow trucks are very expensive, you will have to have at least R150 000 before even looking for any tow truck.

2. Licenses

You will have to register your towing company with the CIPC, registering a private company costs R175 in South Africa. Other licenses that you will have to obtain are driver’s licenses and other licenses that are required for towing companies (see the Gauteng Provincial Road Traffic Act (No.10 of 1997).

3. Insurance

Your towing company will have to be insured, there are a lot of things that can go wrong while you are towing people’s cars. This can lend you in serious legal waters and end up bankrupting your company.

4. Have a yard

At some point you will be required to tow illegally parked cars or to just remove cars from the accident scene and put them somewhere safe. This is when you will need a yard for parking the vehicles, you also get to make money from this because you will be charging them storage fees per night.

5. Marketing

Your primary target market is people who are stuck in emergency vehicle situations, or businesses seeking to tow illegally parked vehicles. People only seek towing companies when they need them.

Your marketing strategy should be geared towards making sure that they find you when they are looking for a towing company. Create a professional website, most people use Google to search for towing companies by using searches like “towing companies near me”. A professional website will lead them to using your services, you can get a well-designed website for only R1 200 from Promta Web Services.

Unethical behaviour

  • Bribing police officers to make sure that you first at the scene.
  • Not informing the motorists of all the costs that will be involved in recovering his vehicle.
  • Charging excessive recovery and storage costs.

Conclusion

This was a guide on how to start a towing company in South Africa. Do you have any thoughts or questions? Comment below.

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This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. How do i register with insurance companies?

  2. Just funny how the towing companies can charge what ever they want. All this shiny promises until they took control over your vehicle. After that…be ready to pay through your neck and the customers have NO protection what so ever. DO NOT SUPPORT ANY TOWING COMPANY. Tow the vehicle with a rope to your home !!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. some vehicles who are insured need authority to be moved from scene of accident or else you risk a chance to claim. and some vehicles are so damaged that they can not be moved independently.

  3. is recovery company profitable than logistic company? and how about buying waste truck? tipper truck? water bulk truck? which one is profitable and where does one get clients?

  4. what license is required to start a repossession company and how does one go about applying for it?

  5. FOR ANYBODY THAT FIND THEM SELF IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU ARE STUCK AND NEED A TOW TRUCK TO ASSIST AT A VERY REASONABLE PRICE AND ALL THE COSTS ARE NEGOTIATED OR DISCLOSED IN ADVANCE GIVE US A CALL WE ARE BASED IN THE EAST RAND AND DO NOT MIND TO COME TO THE RESCUE NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE 0815254032

  6. How does it go if you want a towing licence

  7. How to get started with towing license

  8. How do I know what rates to charge from point A to B

  9. Hi, I’m a new business and have been struggling for the past year to successfully register on dream tech.. If anyone can help, please whatsapp 0680705559 (Sokoo towing)

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