Specialty Towing

Although I haven't had the pleasure yet of meeting Tad (the owner of Specialty Towing) in person, I would not hesitate to call him when we need a tow in future. I spoke with Tad several times recently over the phone, and he strikes me as a very considerate, helpful, truly kind man. In fact, when I told Tad we might need his flatbed towing service to get Carter's vintage Jag from a garage in SF back to Marin (assuming the car was not yet running), Tad recommended a mechanic in San Rafael who specializes in repairing Jags. And since this was during the week btwn Christmas and New Year's, Tad even drove over to this mechanic for me to see if he was open! Talk about going to a lot of trouble for a customer he hadn't even met yet! I am very impressed with Tad's old fashioned, service-oriented, customer-friendly attitude and will certainly call him for our future towing needs. You should, too! more

Specialty Towing in San Rafael is the Go To outfit for Towing or Emergency Service. Owner Tad Alvord is a Marin County fixture who has been in the Towing Business for nearly half a century and still answers the phone in person. This is the kind of personal attention your particular situation will recieve... I know because I operated Towing & Recovery rigs in San Rafael for many years including for Valley Tow and D+S Garage where the highest standards were set and maintained... Specialty only dispatches highly skilled operators (if Tad doesnt take the call himself) who will ensure your vehicle is handled with utmost care... everything from Ferraris to work trucks... Pros: null Cons: null more

I was picking up a car in Mill Valley that I had bought off Craigs List, and was retuning home to Red Bluff. I just got on the 101 freeway when I lost a trailer tire and then by the time I stopped I lost the other one and my axle came crashing down to the ground and damaged the center spring hangar. Even though I did have a spare, I needed two tires and a repair job to the trailer. I called two local towing companies and told them ny story and they acted like I was the enemy, couldn't recommend a shop to go to and said that they couldn't haul the car on the trailer. I hung up on both of them, then i called Tad from Specialty Tow and he answered the phone, not an answering service that put me on hold like the others . He said he knew a friend at a welding shop, he would call them and get them geared up for an emergency repair. He came out himself, knew just what to do, handled the traffic prolem very well as I was not in a good spot, disconnected the trailer, took off the car, put my purchased car on the rear of the car carrier and loaded the damaged trailer on the slide back. Then he had me follow him to the shop, now the good part of this story begins. He unloaded the car and trailer, got the repair going and took both my wheels and me for a ride to a tire shop so I could buy new tires. While the tires were being put on I bought Tad lunch and we had a great time-he is a quite character. He got me a deal on the repairs and the tires as these are his buddies. We returned to the welding shop, he helped me put it all back together on the trailer and I was back on the road within two hours!!! Pros: null Cons: null more

As the owner of Specialty towing, I would like to respond to an individuals poor reveiw. LSagFlynn isn't telling the whole story. She lost her car keys, which contained a securuty chip. We were called to tow her car to the dealership for key programing. Knowing how steep and dangerous her street was,I suggested that she contact the dealership to obtain a "cortesy key" that would allow for unlocking the car and steering wheel and transmission to allow loading on a car carrier. It took several hors for the key to be made. I picked the key up in San rafael and responded to her home, high in the hills of Tam Valley. The key opened the door, however her model did not have an actual place for the key to be used. I could not unlock the steering or transmission. I made calls to Toyota Marins Service Department, to try and locate a transmission bypass, to allow the vehicle to be moved. This model DOES NOT have a manual bypass. Toyota stated that the next day they would send a technician to her home to program a key. The vehicle was parked in a carpot uphill fromm the VERY steep road she lived on, with the front wheels turnd all the wat to one side and locked in place. With 50 years of towing experience, I felt attempting to move the car was unsafe, Her loss of keys and her unusual paring situation were not my fault, she thought she threw the keys out in the recycling. I had invested well over an hour, with many phone calls, picking up her key at the dealership and driving 15 miles to her home, reviewing her owners manual etc. We don't work for nothing and feel the charge was fair. She knew that she could also get a refund from her insurance company. I feel her complaint is unjustified and unfair. Guess you can't please everyone, no matter how hard you try. more

The Toyota dealership in Marin recommended I contact Specialty Tow to tow my car to the dealership to get a smartkey programed. I called "Tad". He took two hours to get to my home - a 15 mile drive and then refused to do the job because it was too complicated. Guess he was running late for happy hour. He then charged me a $100 service fee. STAY AWAY. No business ethics whatsoever. more

I am the owner of Specialty Towing, I would like to respond to the negative review given by the person regarding an insurance company tow.that he was unhappy with. First of all, Specialty Towing DOES NOT contract with auto clubs, however when they cannot get service from thier contractors (which is quite often) they contact independents, like us to help thier members. In this case the customer had been waiting for the auto club (out of state motor club) for several days and was already upset. We agreed to take his call and gave a three hour ETA, due to high call volume that day, the auto club gladly accepted, as they couldnt get anyone to do the job. Immediatley after accepting the call this person started calling DEMANDING faster service....I explained that we were helping his provider as an independant and that we would be there within the time agreed upon....Not good enough....he kept calling every 15 minutes or so and got more and more irrate and threatening. Finally I advised him more

Specialty worked with me on a long distance tow from Santa Rosa down to San Rafael and delivered my vehicle when and where I needed it. more

I am not the kind of person who usually spends their time writing review for a job well done, but in this case I am happy to make the exception. Specialty Towing well above and beyond the call of duty and helped me out of a delema. I hopefully will never have to use them again, but if I do I am glad they are here. The response time was quick, I mean fast and the driver was friendly, he even had me laughing in the end. I highly recommend. Pros: beautiful trucks and friendly drivers Cons: can't think of any more

I have never been treated so badly by a business as I was by this one. My insurance company gave me the name & number of Specialty Towing to take care of towing my car. From the first time I talked with the owner, he was rude, he ridiculed me and my situation, and talked down to me. I needed to understand my options for getting my car towed, and he was extremely unhelpful, acting like I was a buffoon. He actually told me that I was an idiot. On top of all of that, he was 3 hours late in meeting me & towing my car! I have never been treated so badly. There are too many tow companies out there to use this guy's service. Don't waste your time. Cons: Rude service, Unhelpful staff, Late to appointment more