New drivers often haven’t experienced a breakdown before, and it can feel far more alarming than it needs to. Here’s a straightforward guide if it’s your first time.
Stay calm and get safe first
Whatever’s wrong with the car, your safety comes first. Get off the road if you can, put your hazards on, and only then start thinking about what happened.
You don’t need to diagnose it yourself
It’s easy to feel like you should know what’s wrong before calling for help. You don’t. Just describe what you noticed — warning lights, strange noises, the car not starting — and we’ll take it from there.
What we’ll ask when you call
Your location, whether you’re somewhere safe, and a rough idea of what happened. That’s it — no need to know technical terms or guess at the fault.
Recovery Car is patient, friendly and available 24/7 across South East London — especially for drivers dealing with their first breakdown.