I was inspired to write this post on what to do when your car breaks down when traveling when it happened to me the other weekend in Palm Springs. As you can see in the image above, that is my car completely stopped in the middle of a busy street. Yikes! I will say, I was really fortunate that this happened right by a traffic light, so cars were a bit slower approaching the intersection, and not on the 405 freeway.

Also luckily, since I live in Los Angeles, I was not too far from home. However, I did end up getting my car towed to the nearest dealership and getting a rental car to get home. But more of the details to come…

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Before Your Trip

First off, there are a couple of things you can do to prepare for the worst before your trip. If you are driving your own car, I advise taking it in for all the routine check ups before you hit the road. This includes getting your oil changed, filling up your tires with air, and making sure there are no warning lights on your dashboard, to start.

I also have a portable power station jump starter, courtesy of my dad (huge shoutout – this has saved me more than once)! It has the clamps to jump-start a car, USB charging ports to charge your electronic devices, and a digital air compressor to fill up your tires with air. Highly advise getting yourself one of these – I’ve linked the exact one I have below.

As a general rule of thumb, make sure you have a couple snacks and water bottles in your car in case of an emergency. That way, even if you’re left stranded, you will have something to sustain your energy. I did not have any snacks and was soo hungry since we were on our way to dinner. We got lucky and there was a gas station pretty close, and I was able to get a little snack.

Immediate First Steps Post-Breakdown

First and foremost, pull over into the shoulder of the road if you can. You want to be out of the way of other cars speeding by. I would suggest driving in the rightmost lane if you start to notice something a little off with your car, in case of an emergency like this.

Then, you need to get out of your car. Depending on where your car breaks down, this may be harder to do so please be safe and use your best judgement. Luckily for us, we were able to take advantage of a red light to get out and onto the sidewalk. We then walked away a bit from the car. You want to be far enough away where you would not be injured by another car colliding into yours. 

Phone Calls To Make

Once you are safely out of your car, or if you are unable to exit your car, call 911. Give them your cross streets to let them know where you or your car is. Definitely stress the urgency of your issue, depending on where it occurred. In our case, the police actually did not end up showing up in the hour it took to get a tow truck to my car, so be sure to move onto the next steps ASAP.

Next up is calling AAA, if you are a member, or a tow truck company to get your car out of the way and to the nearest dealership or service center. Or, if you just ran out of gas, you can have them tow you to the nearest gas station. If it’s a reasonable hour and the gas station is close, you could also try walking to the gas station and seeing if there is anyone there who could help push your car in neutral to the gas pump.

If you’re with at least one other person, you can combine these steps and have someone making each phone call at the same time.

While You Wait

While you are waiting for roadside assistance or the tow truck, look up rental car options. Depending on the dealership and the time of day, you may be able to get a courtesy car, also known as a loaner. For us, it was pretty late at night on a Saturday, and the dealership was not open. We were pretty close to the Palm Springs airport, and were able to rent a car for just $60 for one day. If it’s late, airport rentals are your best option as they are open pretty much 24/7. You can also opt to just Uber while your car is being repaired. The tow truck will drop you off wherever you have them bring your car.

To lift our spirits, we did a little photoshoot of the sunset while waiting too! It was so pretty and gave us a much needed break from all the stress.😂

Above all else, being prepared in case of an emergency and knowing what to do is your best chance of being equipped to handle it! And shoutout to BMW Palm Springs for fixing my car🙏🏼

Anything I missed? Drop a comment below! For more travel tips, keep reading here.

💙mariss