Johnson’s Wrecker Service

I had the unpleasant experience of having my car stolen from my driveway and when it was recovered two weeks later, this is where my vehicle found it’s way to.
This is where cars go to die… the workers are extremely slow and the rates are ridiculous and they all hide behind gates and bullet proof windows.
If you had the choice of having your car towed, this should never be your first choice.

We had our car towed on a Saturday night. Completely our fault for misreading an ambiguously written sign. We understand that it was towed and were happy to pick it up the next day. Well, they are closed on Sunday. That’s great they let SOME people have to day off… Not the rude person who answered our call to get information… And certainly not the people who will still tow the cars ²⁴⁄₇. Monday morning at 7:00am we are there to get our car and pay our fine. Then told it would be $ 178 to get our car. It they charged $ 20 for Sunday and $ 20 for Monday… When we were there Monday morning to pick it up and COULDN’T pick it up on Sunday. They are thieves and extremely rude. When we said that was ridiculous, the laughed… Literally laughed. I think this is unprofessional and wrong. Anyone writing a 4 or 5 star review either works for Johnson’s Towing or for the city. This is not how a «family business» should be run.

On a minutes notice and the best service anywhere. I could not be more pleased. I felt compelled to come and write this review. Use them with peace of mind.
Eric Schepps

AVOID JOHNSON’S WRECKER SERVICE
TELL ORLANDO POLICE DEPARTMENT
NOT TO SEND «JOHNSON’S WRECKER SERVICE»
If you don’t trust my opinion, then scroll down below there are 4 MORE OPINIONS
THESE 4 OTHER REVIEWS ARE NOT CURRENTLY RECOMMENDED, BUT MIRROR MY EXPERIENCE.
My vehicle (4-​door sedan) was in their yard for 4 hours and they found a way to charge me $ 270 to remove the vehicle. I didn’t argue with them. I just left it at the foot of The Cross. I paid them their cash and left with my vehicle.
I also had to stand outside their front window in the hot weather for a ridiculous amount of time. There weren’t any fans to create a breeze for their clients. There weren’t any benches for their clients to sit and wait for them to finish with the clients already in line. A very uncomfortable wait to conduct and complete business.
It really seemed like their goal was to squeeze every dollar out of their clients. All they needed was to get a vehicle ONTO THEIR PROPERTY first.

They were nice after an accident. Called them and they were clear that registration and photo id is required. Would you really want someone to get access to your car with less? I can understand being busy, but would you want a firm to release an expensive vehicle without checking the person actually owns the car? While it is nice you had other proof, they are easier to counterfeit than registration and would likely make then accountable for losses in court. It is their job to do their best to protect your property, and from your review it sounds like they did so. What is odd to be is that all of it could have been prevented with a simple phone call. Accidents are hectic, but relax take one step at a time and things normally work out fine.

Johnson’s wrecker has been around for a long time and I always felt they were the most reasonable and professional of all Florida towing businesses as I have used them in the past. As most Floridians know, tow companies have a bad reputation overall for being difficult with tactics that inflate fees and property conversions.
Well, maybe my recent experience is isolated with Johnson’s, but their «dark side» was introduced to me. Mind you, they were courteous but a family member of mine was involved in a serious accident requiring admission to the hospital which will be two weeks and continuing as of this writing requiring multiple surgeries. In me assisting to get the vehicle out, Johnson’s requires 3 things, 1) a copy of the owners drivers license, 2) a written signed release of by the owner and 3) a copy of the registration or title. All this is for the «owners protection», their rules, not Florida state rules. All serve a purpose; my beef is that they refuse to provide an exception or make any attempt to understand a unique situation.
The drivers license was lost at the scene as the clothing was torn off by the paramedics. With both hands baldy damaged, writing a release was difficult but not impossible. I found the title but the license remained missing. This serious accident and conditions were explained to Johnson’s but they would not let me pay the charges and pick up the vehicle without the license. An Orlando police sergeant assisted me with pleading the situation to Johnson’s but the answer was a firm no. So what was the result? I was gladly told by Johnson’s of the tow fees, storage fees and admin fees that I will be incurring until I can produce the license I finally got a replacement but not until the fees approached the vehicle’s gross cost.
What to do know? I can only hope the insurance carrier will understand that we did all we could to mitigate the charges which increased only due to Johnson’s lack of empathy and their exuberance over their efforts to keep the charges adding up. If the carrier does not pay the ransom, then abandonment is our only choice as the vehicle’s cost is less than the accumulated outstanding charges.

These are never fun reviews to write since it has to do with issues like care accidents but I am pleased to say… Johnson’s was extremely pleasant to work with.
They arrived on the scene of my accident and without hesitation volunteered to drop me off at home. The driver was so calming and nice to ride with. Not scary like you expect most towing guys to be (no offense, just saying as a female, it’s scary to drive with a stranger late at night). He informed me of exactly what he was doing with the car and told me to call the next morning.
I gave them a call and all I had to do was fax them a note to say they could release my car to the insurance company. Everyone I was in contact with at Johnson’s was very nice. They made a stressful time less frustrating!