How we can help in Birmingham
Vehicle recovery in Birmingham
Spaghetti Junction's official name is the Gravelly Hill Interchange, Junction 6 of the M6. It serves 18 routes on five levels, joining the M6 to the A38(M) Aston Expressway, the A38 Tyburn Road and the A5127 Lichfield Road. The M6 on either side is smart motorway, and the layout changes from section to section. Between Junctions 4 and 5, and from Junction 8 to 10a, the hard shoulder is opened as a running lane at busy times. Between Junctions 2 and 4, towards Coventry and the NEC, there is no hard shoulder at all. Treat any hard shoulder under a speed limit or lane arrow as live. Head for an emergency area or the next exit, and if you're stuck in a running lane, stay belted in with hazards on and call 999.
The A38(M) runs about two miles from Junction 6 into the city. It is the UK's only single-carriageway motorway: seven lanes, no central barrier, with overhead signals moving lanes between inbound and outbound during the day. It feeds the A38 Queensway, which dives under the centre through the St Chads and Queensway tunnels. Both are covered by CCTV and incident detection. If you stop in one, stay in the car with hazards on unless there is a safe way out, and tell us which tunnel and which direction.
Everything inside the A4540 Middleway ring road is Birmingham's Clean Air Zone, and the A38 tunnels run through the middle of it. The Middleway itself is outside. The zone runs 24 hours a day and non-compliant cars pay £8 a day. A car that breaks down inside still gets collected, but check an older car on the government vehicle checker before driving it home from a city-centre garage.
Bullring and Grand Central have three car parks: Moor Street, the largest, off Park Street; the Centre car park under Bullring, entered from Smallbrook Queensway or Park Street; and Edgbaston Street by the markets. Queen Elizabeth Hospital, off the A38 Bristol Road, has car parks A to D, with D on Mindelsohn Way.
Roads & areas we cover around Birmingham
Why Birmingham drivers choose BlueLine
Recovering something other than a car
Different vehicles need different trucks and different handling. These explain how each one is done.
Birmingham recovery & roadside FAQs
My car has stopped in the Queensway tunnel. What do I do?
Hazards on straight away. The tunnels have CCTV and systems that detect stopped vehicles, so the operators will usually know you're there quickly. Stay in the car with your seat belt on unless you can get out safely away from traffic. If the car is blocking a live lane and you feel at risk, call 999. Then call or WhatsApp us with which tunnel, which direction, and roughly how far in you are.
I've broken down on the Aston Expressway. Is there anywhere safe to stop?
The A38(M) has no central barrier and its lanes change direction through the day, so the safest move is to keep rolling to the next exit or off at Spaghetti Junction if the car will do it. If it won't, stop as far left as possible with hazards on. If you're in a live lane and can't get out safely, stay belted in and call 999 before calling us.
Will I have to pay the Clean Air Zone charge if you recover my car from the city centre?
The charge is for driving a non-compliant vehicle in the zone, and it runs 24 hours a day at £8 for a car. We haven't found an official statement on whether a car carried on a recovery truck is charged, so we won't promise either way. What matters more is the drive home after a repair: check the car on the government vehicle checker, or ask us to take it to a garage outside the Middleway.
My car is on an upper level of a Bullring car park and won't start.
Tell us which car park (Moor Street, Centre or Edgbaston Street), the level and the bay if you can see a marker. A flatbed won't fit inside, so a jump start or a battery fitted in the bay is usually the answer. If the car needs to go to a garage and won't drive, it may need moving to the exit level first.
Can you take a car from Birmingham to a dealer in another city?
Yes. Give us the address and the whole trip goes into the quote, whether that's Wolverhampton, Coventry or much further. The price agreed before dispatch is the price you pay.