You Can’t Jump Start Your Car: What Should You Do?

If you can’t jump-start your car, it might be either faulty jumper cables or a lack of skill on your part. All you know is that your car isn’t going anywhere, and you can’t be stranded all day.

Do You Have Roadside Assistance Coverage?

Regardless of why you can’t jump-start your car, start at square one: See if you are covered for roadside assistance.

Call the following three companies to find out if they can come to your aid:

• Credit cards: Believe it or not, just by having an open credit card account, you may be entitled to roadside assistance. Call the customer service line for your credit card company and ask to speak to an associate in the card benefits department.
  Credit cards sometimes get a bad rap, but they offer all sorts of consumer protection benefits that you may not realize you have. One of those attractive benefits? Free or cheap roadside assistance when you run out of gas, get a flat tire or find yourself with a dead battery. 

• AAA: If you have an AAA membership, you know for a fact you have roadside assistance. However, maybe you don’t know if your membership is still current. Call AAA and they will look you up in their system.

• Warranty: Is your vehicle fairly new? The manufacturer’s warranty may cover roadside assistance if you can’t jump-start your vehicle and the dead battery is a manufacturing defect.

Even if your car isn’t new, maybe you purchased a dealership warranty when you bought your car. Dealer warranties likely provide roadside assistance up to a certain mileage, so call the original dealer and explain your situation.

Find a Tow Service

Let’s say you explore all of the above options, but you still don’t have coverage. That’s OK — all you have to do is find a trusted local towing service that specializes in helping stranded motorists. You will need to make sure the tow company you choose offers the following two services:

• Professional Jump Start

Make sure the towing company understands why you’re calling — that you have a dead battery and you can’t jump it on your own. They will bring heavy-duty jumper cables and a professional battery starter kit. They will do everything in their power to get your vehicle running using their equipment.

• Towing When Necessary

If your tow service can’t jump-start your car, they must be able to hook up and transport your vehicle to your desired repair shop. If nobody is able to get your car going, you will want it repaired as soon as possible.

Trust Stauffer’s Towing for help when you can’t jump-start your car — call today and get immediate roadside assistance.