Towing Cost Calculator for Pretoria & South Africa

Towing prices in South Africa come down to a few simple things, and once you know them the numbers stop feeling random. Every tow starts with a callout fee — ours starts at R850 — which covers getting a truck to you and the first stretch of the journey. After that, the price moves with distance, the type of vehicle, and when you call.

The service you need sets the base. A straightforward emergency tow in the Pretoria metro usually runs R850 to R2,500. A flatbed — the safest option for luxury, lowered, all-wheel-drive, or non-rolling cars — sits a bit higher because the whole vehicle rides off the road. Motorcycles are cheaper since they're lighter and quicker to load.

Distance is the next big lever. Local tows cover roughly the first 30 km around the metro in the base price; past that, a per-kilometre rate kicks in. Long-distance towing works differently — you pay a callout fee plus R15 to R25 per km across the whole trip, so Pretoria to Joburg lands around R1,500 and Pretoria to Durban closer to R8,000.

Finally, vehicle size adds a small multiplier — a bakkie or SUV costs a touch more than a hatchback — and after-hours, weekend, or public-holiday callouts carry a surcharge of roughly 20% to 50%. For the full breakdown with worked examples, read our guide to towing costs in Pretoria. The calculator above bakes all of this in, but the only way to lock a firm number is a quick call.