How we can help in Wandsworth
Vehicle recovery in Wandsworth
From the east, the A3 arrives along Battersea Rise and runs together with the A205 South Circular past Wandsworth Common North Side and down East Hill. At the bottom is the Wandsworth gyratory, the one-way loop that also carries the A218, A3209 and A3205. The A3 then climbs West Hill towards Tibbets Corner, where the A219 turns off for Putney Heath, while the South Circular leaves at West Hill along Upper Richmond Road. On the gyratory, the road name matters less than the direction you were moving in. A truck coming the wrong way may have to go all the way round the loop to reach you, so tell us both.
North of the town centre, Wandsworth Bridge takes the A217 over the Thames to Sands End and Fulham. It carries more than 50,000 vehicles a day, and a car stuck on it backs traffic up onto the gyratory within minutes. Hazards on, and if you can get out safely, wait on the footway away from the traffic.
Southside, the shopping centre on Garratt Lane that opened as the Wandsworth Arndale, has 1,180 parking spaces over several levels. That is where plenty of flat batteries get discovered. Further south, St George's Hospital on Blackshaw Road in Tooting is one of London's four major trauma centres, so cars sit in and around it for long stretches while people visit.
Wandsworth, like every London borough, is inside the Ultra Low Emission Zone. If an older car is being repaired, check it on TfL's vehicle checker before you plan to drive it home. A recovered vehicle can go to a garage in the borough, to your home, or out of London to a dealer, and the whole trip is priced before dispatch.
Roads & areas we cover around Wandsworth
Why Wandsworth drivers choose BlueLine
Recovering something other than a car
Different vehicles need different trucks and different handling. These explain how each one is done.
Wandsworth recovery & roadside FAQs
My car cut out on the Wandsworth one-way system. Should I push it to the side?
Only if you can do it without stepping into moving traffic, and on the gyratory that is rarely true. Put the hazards on, and if you can get out safely, wait on the pavement. Then call us with the road you're on (East Hill, the High Street, or one of the other arms of the loop) and the direction of travel. If you're stuck in a lane and can't get out safely, call 999 first.
The battery's flat in the Southside car park. Can a truck get in there?
Probably not onto the parking levels, because a flatbed is taller than most car park headroom. That's why a jump start or a replacement battery fitted in the bay is the usual answer. Tell us the level and the nearest bay or pillar marker, plus the make and model. If the car truly needs to be towed, it may have to be moved to street level first, and we'll talk you through that.
My car isn't ULEZ compliant. Will you still recover it?
Yes. We recover any car, whatever its emissions standard. ULEZ is a daily charge for driving in London, so the question to think about is where the car goes afterwards. If it's heading to a garage and will be driven away from there, check it on TfL's vehicle checker first so the charge doesn't come as a surprise.
I've come out of St George's and the car won't start. What should I tell you?
Which car park or street you're in around Blackshaw Road, the make and model, and what happens when you turn the key: silence, a click, or a slow turn. Mention stop-start or hybrid, because some cars have a specific jump point. Hospital car parks are a common place for a weak battery to give up after a long day, and a jump start usually settles it.
How do you work out the price for a Wandsworth recovery?
From four things: where the car is, what it is, whether it rolls and steers, and how far it's going. Once we have those you get one figure, and that's the figure you pay. There's no membership to buy first.