When your car won't start or won't move, there are usually three ways the tow actually gets arranged: a AAA membership, your car insurance dispatching through a network like Agero, or calling a local towing company directly. They can all get a truck to you, but the experience is different enough that it's worth knowing before you're stuck on the shoulder deciding in a hurry.

AAA Roadside Assistance

AAA is a membership you pay for annually, and it typically covers a set number of tows per year up to a mileage limit, plus basics like a jump start, flat tire change, or lockout. It's a solid option if you're already a member. The tradeoff: AAA doesn't own trucks in most areas, it dispatches contracted local companies, so you're often getting a random assigned driver rather than choosing who shows up, and your tow is capped at a certain distance before you start paying out of pocket.

Agero Towing (and Similar Insurance Networks)

Agero isn't a towing company either. It's a dispatch network that a lot of major car insurance companies use to fulfill the roadside assistance line item on your policy. When you call your insurer after a breakdown, there's a good chance Agero is the system routing your call to a contracted driver in your area. It works, but you're one call further removed from the actual truck, and like AAA, you don't get to pick the company that arrives.

Calling a Local Towing Company Directly

This is the option most people don't think about until they need it fast: skip the membership or the insurance call center and contact a local company yourself. The differences show up quickly:

  • You know who's coming. No random contractor assignment, just the company you called.
  • Faster in many cases. One call, one dispatch, instead of a membership hotline routing you to a third-party network.
  • Local knowledge. A company based in Acworth that covers metro Atlanta daily knows the roads, the shortcuts, and realistic drive times.
  • Pay per tow, no annual membership. You're quoted a real price for this specific tow, not a coverage cap you have to track.
Good to know: after an accident, you're generally free to request your own tow company instead of the one your insurer's network assigns. See our guide on what to do right after a crash for more on that.

So Which One Should You Use?

If you already pay for AAA and you're within your annual tow limit, it's a reasonable call, that's what the membership is for. If your insurance includes roadside assistance and you're comfortable with whoever gets dispatched, that works too. But if you want a known local company, a faster response, and a price you can confirm before the truck rolls, calling directly is usually the better move, especially for anything beyond a basic tow: accident recovery, a winch-out, or a vehicle that needs a flatbed instead of a standard hook-up.

Either way, keep a real number saved in your phone, not just an app you have to open and log into while standing on the shoulder. That's the whole point of having it ready.