Auto Guardian Towing & Battery Service

This review is from August of last year. I had meant to do a review then but lost the paper with the name of the company. The service was so good that it’s worth doing the review even if way late! My husband and friend had just ran the Tough Mudder at Northstar and I had been in the sun all day. We were all wiped. Of course, the car broke down and we were stuck. We live in Sacramento. AAA patched us through to Auto Guardian. They were swamped and said it could be 5+ hours before they could get a truck for us as they were doing a few long distance tows already and my SUV needed a special truck. They asked if we needed food or water, if we were safe. We were. We called around to a few hotels thinking we may end up spending the night but they were all booked due to the Tough Mudder.
The 3 of us pulled out some lawn chairs and our snacks to wait in the shade while we worked other angles. We’d been there about an hour when a Tow truck pulled in. It was Michael D., he had wanted to make sure we were in fact safe and didn’t need anything. He teased us about being so relaxed. It looked like we had planned an outing by the side of the road. We were just making the best out of a bad situation. He looked the car over to see if it was something simple that he could help with but it wasn’t. He then called AAA to see if they could find another company to help us. They couldn’t. He promised to check back on us.
On the 2^nd hour, he called to let us know they couldn’t get us out tonight and he had tried other companies as well. He had also called a few hotels and a few repair shops to see if there was anything for the night. There wasn’t. We told him we’d see if we could get a ride home and leave the car for them to tow the next day. We were able to do so but it would be 2 hours before anyone made it up the mountain. We called Mike to let him know that we would take the option of them bringing the car down the next day. He was concerned that it would be another few hours and once again asked if we needed food or water. We didn’t. We thankfully had packed a bunch for the day. He came by to pick up the key to the car so they had it in the morning and we locked up when our ride came.
I received a phone call the next morning that my car was leaving Truckee and then I received a call that they had delivered it to the Mechanic I had requested. These guys, especially Michael, went above and beyond in making sure we were safe and that our car made it to its destination. I was blown away. Not many companies have this level of service anymore. 9 months after my interaction with them, I’m still super impressed.
Thank you!

Really unhappy with the service from the tow truck driver. Not sure what his name was but AAA dispatched him to tow my vehicle from Truckee to Reno. He was just an arrogant guy who wanted to chide me for not having AAA the night I broke down.
He also had me sign delivery before he unhooked my car because as it turned out he wanted to leave it in the middle of the pairing lot of my development for me to“coast it in”. He said his tow truck was too big. It was not. He had plenty of room he just would have had to do a little work. He also could have mentioned it when I pointed at one of the many open spots available but I guess he didn’t want to tell me that until he had my signature and the car off the lift.
On top of that he wanted to tell me how he had been working on a PT Cruiser for years. His «buddies» and my car was just about valueless. I guess he thought he could get the stupid city slicker to just about give it away to the sharp good old boy.
AAA Should vet their contractors better. On the flip side The Auto And Tire Doctor was a pleasure to deal with. Please see my review for what outstanding service is.
I tipped the driver what I had in my pocket about $ 10 the night he took the vehicle off the side of the 80. I felt bad I didn’t have more cash even though I was dealing with a broken down car, a U haul truck and a 2 year old that needed to get to safety. I had $ 30 in my pocket to give to him when he was done. Of course he didn’t get it but he probably didn’t need it. That’s ok. I gave it to my neighbors 10 year old for her school cookie sale.
See everything worked out.

Called AAA after my keys got locked in my car near Jackson Meadows. Steve was out there in 30 minutes and even made it down a dirt road to where my car was parked. What could have been an end to the weekend ended up being a minor inconvenience thanks to Auto Guardian! Steve was fast and courteous.10’s all across the board!