Guides
Roadside assistance or a mobile tire service?
Most roadside plans, AAA included, do one of two things with a flat: fit your spare or tow the car. With a good spare and time to wait, use the plan; it is already paid for. With no spare, or at night when shops are closed, a mobile service fixes the tire where the car is.
Written by Enes Gümüş
What a roadside plan actually does
AAA describes its own process plainly. When a member calls with a flat, the first question is whether the car has a spare. If it does, the spare goes on and the driver carries on. If it does not, the car is towed to somewhere a replacement tire can be bought.
The roadside cover that comes with car insurance, with a new car or with a credit card is built the same way. It exists to get the car moving or to move it, and the person who arrives is often a local towing company working under contract, with a jack and a wrench rather than a tire machine.
Neither outcome fixes the tire. After the spare goes on, the flat is in the boot and a shop visit is still ahead of you. After a tow, the car is at a shop, or at home waiting for one.
When the plan is the right call
Often, and we will say so on the phone. If you are already paying for cover, these are the cases where it does the job well.
- The car has a spare in good shape, you are somewhere safe, and you are not in a hurry. The plan fits it at no extra cost.
- The wheel is bent, something in the suspension is damaged, or the car will not drive for a reason that is not the tire. That needs a tow and a workshop. We do not tow and we do not do mechanical repair.
- You are on an Austin highway during TxDOT HERO hours. HERO changes flats for free on I-35, US 183, US 290, SH 71 and Loop 1, and if it can reach you it is the first call to make. The I-35 guide has the number and the hours.
When it is not
The plan's two moves both assume something: a usable spare, or a shop that is open at the other end of the tow. When either is missing, the plan still answers the phone but the car does not get home.
- There is no spare. AAA's own count found nearly a third of new vehicles sold without one, and no Tesla has one. For a plan, no spare means a tow.
- It is night, or Sunday. A tow at 11pm delivers the car to a shop that opens in the morning, or to your driveway with the flat still on it.
- The spare is a donut and the drive is long. A temporary spare is limited to around 50 mph and 70 miles, which rules out I-35 or SH 130 at the speed of the traffic around you.
- The locking wheel nut key is missing. Without it the wheel does not come off with ordinary tools, and a roadside call usually ends there. We carry removal tools for exactly this.
- The car is inside a multi-level garage. A flatbed cannot get into most of them, so a car with no spare on an upper deck is a hard tow and an easy repair.
Using both
If the car has a spare, the cheapest route is often to let the plan fit it and have the original fixed afterwards, without taking the car to a shop.
- 01
Let the plan fit the spare
It is already paid for. Make sure whoever fits it checks the spare's pressure, because a spare that has sat for years is usually low.
- 02
Drive within the spare's limits
Home or to work, within the speed and distance printed on the spare. Keep the flat tire in the car.
- 03
Have the original fixed where the car is parked
We come to the driveway or the office car park, repair the flat tire or fit a new or inspected used one, and put the spare back where it lives.
What it costs either way
A plan's service is covered by what you already pay for it, up to the limits of your tier. Check the tow distance in particular: a tow beyond it is charged, and the tire work at the shop is always extra.
We publish our starting prices: a plug repair from $50, a patch repair from $75, an inspected used tire from $100 and a new tire from $150. The trip is included, there is no membership or call-out fee, and nights, weekends and holidays cost the same. The exact figure is given on the phone before anyone drives out.
Need it done?
The work this guide describes, done at your car, at any hour.
Questions about this service
Does AAA fix flat tires?
AAA fits your spare. If there is no usable spare, it tows the car to somewhere a replacement tire can be bought, by AAA's own description. The tire itself is not repaired at the roadside, so a puncture still needs a shop or a mobile service afterwards.
My car has no spare. Will roadside assistance help?
Usually with a tow, since there is nothing to fit. At night or on a Sunday that tends to mean the car waits at a closed shop or in your driveway. A mobile service is the alternative: the repair or the replacement tire comes to the car.
Is a mobile tire service cheaper than a tow?
If your plan covers the tow, the tow costs nothing and the tire work at the shop is extra. Without a plan you pay for both. A mobile service charges only for the tire work, from $50 for a plug, with the trip included.
Can I use my roadside plan and still call you?
Yes, and with a good spare it is often the cheapest route. Let the plan fit the spare, drive home or to work within its limits, and we repair or replace the original tire where the car is parked.
Do I need a membership to use ENAS?
No. There is no membership, sign-up or call-out fee. You call, get a price on the phone, and pay on site when the work is done.
Tell us where you are.
Call or text (512) 573-0135. Give us the cross street or a dropped pin and we will tell you what it costs before anyone drives.
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