In the grand scheme of places for your car to break down, a lot of us would rate a city setting pretty high. After all, there are people around, and there are likely a few garages nearby. It certainly seems a preferable choice to breaking down in the middle of nowhere with only sheep to keep you company. If it’s going to happen, then, you prey it’ll happen when you’re on a busy London street rather than trekking to your mum’s house in Cornwall.

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In truth, though, breaking down on city streets may save you from isolation, but it also brings a few issues of its own. City life moves fast, after all. Your broken down car could cause a whole load of disruption if you don’t also work quickly to move it. While breaking down on a rural road leaves you free to wait it out, city repairs need to happen in the blink of an eye.

Anyone who’s experienced a breakdown before should already understand that speed and recovery don’t often go hand in hand. Hence why you should consider the following five ways to hurry up the process so you don’t congest the whole city.
#1 – Get your coordinates
First thing’s first, you need to know exactly where you are. Otherwise, you’ll waste time with useless directions which leave you waiting while your repair gets lost. Instead, get Google Maps up on your phone and get your coordinates before you call anyone. That way, you can give concise directions to ensure the whole process moves a little faster. It’ll certainly beat the old ‘I’m by the pink shop in Soho…’

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#2 – Contact your breakdown cover

The next logical step is to contact your breakdown company. If you have one, anyway. If not, you’re an idiot who deserves everything they get. Just joking. But, seriously; if you have breakdown cover, this is an obvious port of call. For one, it saves you having to spend on this. For another, you pay this company a lot of money to rescue you. As such, this is a pretty good bet for fast action. As soon as you explain the situation and your location, get a precise estimate on how long you’ll need to wait here. You should find the time to be short. If the length of that wait does exceed half an hour, you might want to…
#3 – Consider other options
Often, your breakdown cover will also help pay the costs of rescue from outside companies. If you face long wait times with the AA, then, do some research into alternatives. Response times are a top priority when it comes to what to look for in a towing service, so this information should be fairly easy to find. Visit a few sites to get a feel for how long you would wait for each company. It may be that you can find rescue in fifteen minutes this way, rather than waiting half an hour.
#4 – Phone a friend

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If it’s a busy day for inner-city breakdowns, you’ll face significant wait times no matter which company you phone. Bear in mind, too, that breaking down in the wrong place could mean companies have to work through traffic to even reach you. Ironically, that’s probably traffic you’ve caused. If you’re in a busy area, then, consider phoning a friend who you know will be close by. This is a good idea in that a familiar face can help calm you when you’re feeling stressed. You can also bet that they won’t have to deal with other cars before coming your way. While a friend may not be able to get you back on the road, they can at least help to move your car to a safe place.
# 5 – Ask for help from passers-by
Along the same vein, you could also make use of those busy city streets by asking for help from passers-by. Here in London, we can be a pretty insulated lot. As such, people may keep their heads down when they see you struggling. But, the majority would be more than happy to help move your vehicle if you reached out to them. You may even strike lucky by asking for help from someone with experience in car repairs. Even better, this is the fastest option of all, given that your help will be right there beside you from the off. Who said breaking down in the city had to cause congestion?