How we can help in Plymouth
Vehicle recovery in Plymouth
Through the city the A38 becomes the Parkway, and three junctions do most of the work. Marsh Mills in the east is where the Plympton bypass comes in and the A374 heads into town. Forder Valley sits in the middle. Manadon, where the A386 Tavistock Road crosses, handles more than 60,000 journeys a day and is the main way up to Derriford Hospital and the north of the city. East of Plymouth, the Deep Lane junction near Plympton meets the B3416.
At the western end, the A38 goes through the Saltash Tunnel and over the Tamar Bridge. Breakdowns on the bridge are handled by Tamar Crossings, which keeps light and heavy recovery vehicles on standby to clear the lanes; after an accident on the bridge, the police attend and arrange the recovery. We don't recover from the bridge deck, but once you've been moved off it we can collect from wherever you've been taken. The toll is only paid eastbound, from Saltash into Plymouth. The other way across the river is the Torpoint Ferry, which carries the A374 from Devonport.
In the city centre, the Drake Circus car park, the Theatre Royal and Mayflower Street multi-storeys and Western Approach are the usual places to come back to a dead battery. Further out, the Estover industrial estate off Plymbridge Road, Marsh Mills Retail Park and Langage Business Park at Plympton are where a lot of work vans spend the night, and where a cold start can go wrong.
Much of Plymouth is hilly, and some of the older terraced streets are steep and narrow, which can limit where a truck can stop and load. If that's where you are, tell us, and we'll plan the collection around it. The car can go to a local garage, your home, or over the bridge to Cornwall.
Roads & areas we cover around Plymouth
Why Plymouth drivers choose BlueLine
Recovering something other than a car
Different vehicles need different trucks and different handling. These explain how each one is done.
Plymouth recovery & roadside FAQs
I've broken down on the Tamar Bridge. Can you recover me?
Not from the bridge itself. Breakdowns on the bridge are dealt with by Tamar Crossings, which has its own recovery vehicles on standby to clear the lanes. If there's been an accident, the police attend and arrange the recovery. Once your vehicle has been moved off, call or WhatsApp 07944 820302 with where it's been left and we'll take it on to a garage or your home.
Can you take my car from Plymouth to a garage in Cornwall?
Yes. Saltash, Liskeard or further west, the truck crosses like any other vehicle and the price agreed before dispatch covers the whole journey.
My car won't start at Derriford Hospital. What should I tell you?
Which car park you're in and roughly where, plus the make and model. Hospital car parks are big and busy, so a bay number or a nearby building name helps. If it's the battery, a jump start or a replacement fitted in the bay often means the car doesn't need to leave at all.
How do you work out the price for a recovery in Plymouth?
From where the car is, what it is, whether it rolls, and how far it's going. You get a single figure before we send anyone, and there's nothing to sign up to.
I've got a flat on the Parkway. Should I change it myself?
Not beside running traffic. If the tyre lets you, come off at the next junction, whether that's Marsh Mills, Forder Valley or Manadon, and stop somewhere quieter. If it doesn't, pull as far left as you can, get everyone out away from the traffic side and call us. If it isn't safe to work where the car is, it goes on the truck and the wheel is sorted somewhere safe.
My van won't start at Langage Business Park first thing. Can you get it going there?
Usually, yes. A jump start is the first thing to try, and if the battery won't hold a charge a replacement can be fitted where the van is parked. Tell us the unit, the van's make and model, and whether the site gate is locked, so the driver can get to it.