“$819.72 charged for a 20‑mile tow—felt taken advantage of.”
On Saturday, 12/13/2025, my son was driving home from school in Illinois to Missouri when he became stranded during the snowstorm. I drove from Missouri to pick him up, planning to return once the weather cleared to retrieve his vehicle.
When I returned on Tuesday morning, I discovered the car had been towed on Monday, 12/15/2025 by By-pass Auto Body from the side of I-55 in Elkhart, IL to their shop in Springfield, IL—a distance of approximately 20 miles. Upon arrival, I was informed the total charges were $819.72 including tax, broken down as follows:
- State Towing: $150.00 - Mileage: $125.00 - I guess their rate is $6.25/mile - Winching: $50.00 - Recovery: $250.00 (unclear, as the car was simply on the roadside and not in a ditch) - Storage (1 day): $75.00 - Dollies: $50.00 (unclear what this refers to) - Administrative Fee: $92.00
I found this amount to be extremely excessive for the circumstances. In my opinion, this company took advantage of an already difficult situation. I believe fair pricing, transparency, and integrity should be standard in these situations, and unfortunately, I did not feel those values were upheld here!!!
Called By-Pass after my truck was backed into. They got me in the next day for an inspection. 4 days later my truck was in the shop. Finished a day later. They washed my truck and cleaned the inside as well. Very satisfied with the service I received.
A few weeks ago By-pass Auto Body made some repairs to my car. Their price was fair, they finished the work in only 5 days, the staff was courteous, and my car looks GREAT. Thank you By-pass Auto Body.
I love Bob and Bill at By-pass. Used them all my life. Will always go to them! They helped me make it through with two teenage driver!! Always there to help!!! Highly recommend!!
My experience with Bypass went extremely smooth. I like that the app kept me updated about the progress of my repair. Everyone I talked to including Bill and Laurie were friendly and efficient. I'd definitely recommend the shop to anyone in the Springfield area.
This isn't something I wanted to do, at all. Bill, the owner over there really seemed like a nice guy. I was stranded in Springfield with a broken down car, on my way home to Chicago, I left the car with Bypass on a Monday and was told I'd be getting a phone call to let me know what exactly was wrong with the vehicle. (Very standard repair shop practice) ... I figured I'd be getting a phone call within a day or two to let me know the damage and what the cost was going to be, so that I could decide if Bypass was the shop I was going to do business with. I left the car with Bypass and had to quickly get to the train station to get back to Chicago for work. Bill had mentioned he was pretty booked until around Thursday and I said no problem, just give me a call and we'll figure it out. Wednesday comes and still no call until late in the afternoon from the front desk saying that my car was ready to be picked up and that the bill was $840. I tried to politely ask why I didn't receive a phone call to approve the repairs and was rudely spoken to by Laurie, the woman at the front desk. Trying to avoid confrontation I just said "I live in Chicago and will need to take a train back down to retrieve the vehicle" then I hung up. I made it down a few days later to pick it up, Bill wasn't in the shop that day. I asked the mechanic on site who worked on my car what was done and if he knew a reason why I wasn't notified of any quote, information, anything. He said the shop down the street were the ones who actually worked on the vehicle (it was then brought back to Bypass just so they could do the alignment) I drove down to the other shop (Odell/Roth) and the mechanic there was very nice, told me he called Bypass for approval and got a green flag, so he did the repair. Today, I called Bypass to ask Bill, politely, why did this happen this way, and if he planned on making it right in any sort of way. (I.e. a partial refund seeing as it was their mistake to do repairs without MY approval, the owner of the vehicle.) Bill told me that he did in fact call, shortly after I left to get on the train. The train doesn't provide phone service too well. I didn't receive a call, voicemail, or even a call back after he didn't get ahold of me the first time. He acknowledged that he probably called while I was on the train and most likely wasn't receiving calls. I asked him again if there was anything he could do to make the situation right, or better, seeing as I didn't have the money to cover a $840 repair. (I had to overdraw my bank account) ... he said it was a misunderstanding and he didn't have any sort of solution to offer.
If you decide to take your car here after hearing this, just beware that you might be just as stuck as I am right now and nothing to show for it and a negative bank account. Probably best to take the car to a different shop where the business is clear, direct and fair.
Sincerely, disappointed.
I'd be HAPPY to take this review down if the situation was made right, but it's looking like I'll just be SOL as Bypass has nothing to say or any way to make it right.
Bob and Lori are great - always get me right in and service is excellent. You can expect quality work and professionalism at a very fair price. Highly recommend.
They are the best Kelly and Jack help us to find a closer place to get my van fix for a recall it would have cost of me $250 to have it towed to Lincoln which wasn't too bad but couldn't afford it to make it a cheaper trip to somewhere closer
By-Pass Auto Body & 24-Hour Towing, thank you for supporting the Springfield Crappie Club with gift certificates for your professional auto details. Your support helped us host 10 family friendly fishing tournaments; create fish habitat; promote the wise and sustainable use of our nation’s fisheries resources and foster a conservation ethic for our natural resources. Thank you for the difference you made!
We were told by another company that the door dings couldn't be removed without replacing the entire door panel. Took it to By-Pass, 2 hours later the dents are gone (very reasonable price) and it looks like new! This is the second car we've taken there for paintless dent removal...we'll never go anywhere else!
They do amazing body work. I was rear ended and my back door looks brand new. They're the only ones I trust to fix my car and it's definitely not the first time I've used them. Quality work and the price isn't bad and they work with insurance companies well so you don't have to. Kim is great and the guys in the garage are as well. Highly recommend!
No one would come by the interstate. He was there fast and did great work. I was also watched over by the Illinois state police while waiting. Thank you both. Highly recommend ByPass
They did a tow for me. It was through my Insurance so they picked up the job. My allstate app was not updating me so I called the shop. The lady that answered vented to me about how I did not have a correct contact number...my number listed is correct..and how the shop it was being towed to didn't want to accept it so it was a total hassle for her and went on and on about how terrible it was..completely out of my control. Worst customer service..she was soo rude.
This journey all began a year ago with a local dealership. Fighting tooth and nail to get repairs done to a vehicle that happened before we took possession of it. After 11 Mos the dealership finally agreed to fix it...the "cheapest way possible". Nope. Needless to say, we were not real happy about how the repairs how turned out. However...after meeting with the owner and pointing out what we were seeing, he agreed it shouldn't have been done that way. After less than a day, the repairs were made, mistakes were fixed and our new car looks just like a new car all over again. By-Pass handled this like a boss and is an example of how a business owner should handle any mistakes and make sure the customer is a returning one....well let's hope we don't need auto body repairs done anytime in the near future, but if so it'll be through them. Thank you again for making this situation as smooth as possible.
Allstate gave me this company as an option, so I went in to get an estimate. The guy who was helping me said that they couldn't get me in until the end of June. I told him to go ahead and add me to the calendar, but I was going to call Allstate to see if I can contact a different company to see if I can get serviced sooner. I went into the office to verify the details with the front desk clerk, and she told me that she would not order the parts until I call back to confirm my appointment with them, which I totally understood. I got a call today from her confirming my appointment for June 26th. I told her to scratch me off the calendar because I went to a different company. She got irate with me and said they already ordered $4k in parts and that it would have been good if I called them to let them know. I tried to remind her what she said to me but she hung up. Very disrespectful and rude. So I call back toto explain what she said, and a man answered the phone. He was just as rude as she was and wouldn't listen to what I had to say. It's amazing that some companies don't believe in great customer service any longer. The worst thing is, my 16 year old daughtrt heard the entire conversation. Don't waste your time or your money.
So disrespectful. I am in the car with my dad and he received a call from your company. Your company ordered parts when your company said my dad had to call back to confirm. My dad already had another place so he didn’t call back. Your company called back today and my dad told the secretary of the company to scratch him off the list since it’s gonna take 4-5 months to get his truck repaired. The secretary started being rude and hung up on him.
Insurance estimated that my repair should take 8 days. It took almost 6 months! I had to bug them weekly for 5 months. "Parts aren't here, we don't have the people who can work on this, now it won't turn on." It's a Chevrolet, not a Jaguar. They stole a $250 tent out of the trunk. After 5 months I kept pushing and asked "What parts are you waiting on?" They couldn't get a headlight. I went online and ordered a headlight. Had it delivered and walked it into their office 3 days later. They inflated the bill to insurance from original estimate of $7k to over $11k because they couldn't find a competent technician. Avoid!
Whenever we need any auto body work; By-Pass is the place we trust to do the job right & in a timely manner. We've recommended them to all friends, acquaintances & family for years.
When I got into my car accident on December 10th, 2021. By-Pass Auto Body was called to tow my car from the scene to there Auto Body building to keep in storage over the weekend (since they are not open on Saturday or Sunday's) I had to wait to clean my car out Monday during the week. When I went inside By-Pass to PAY my tow fee, storage fee, ect. That Monday they ALL were very rude to me and unprofessional!! I told them I was having a DIFFERENT tow company come pick my vehicle up because I planned on keeping my car else where. When I went outside on By-Pass lot after paying bill, I went and cleaned my car out and noticed MULTIPLE items I KNOW was in my car was stolen!!!
I DO NOT RECCOMEND THIS COMPANY AT ALL!!! TERRIBLE SERVICE!!
Worst experience ever... never picked my car up from gas station. Never received a call from the driver... gas station had my car impounded and it ended up costing me 312 dollars to get my car out. I've spoken to several representatives but have yet for the owner to call me back. I'll never I mean never use their company again in my life. One simple call could've saved me 312 dollars. I will definitely be making a Facebook status as well to ensure that the community knows how this company treats their customers. The driver was even cursing in the background trying to defend his own lies. I'm totally disheartened my family has been using this company for years.
I took my vehicle to By-Pass Auto Body for detailing and to buff out some paint on my fender. Wow - they did an excellent job! It looked like a new vehicle. Very impressive - more so than any other place I have used. Pricing was better also which is another plus. Highly recommended!!
my tire blew on the side of the highway. i had roadside assistance on my phone so i called for a tow they i guess called bypass. my roadside set up the tow said bypass would be there in a hour. an. hour goes by still no bypass. my roadside calls me back to confirm i got my tow and im ok. i said no they never showed up. my roadside called bypass who said there tow truck broke down. that's funny 15 mins before my roadside called i seen the bypass tow truck go by with 2 on the back and one on the boom. literally left me stranded. this happened a couple years ago. I posted this on Craigslist and got a response from the owner asking what he could do to help. it's a little to late now. does bypass still got that at&t roadside contract?
One of my friends had his car stuck. I ended up calling up my roadside service and they were the only ones available on a Sunday afternoon. A truck driver called me up right after the request was made. He located us within 15 minutes. Tony showed up in a solid flatbed truck with a winch. My friend was back on the road within 30minutues. Thanks ByPass, you guys saved our day!
I don't even give this place ONE star! My vehicle was taken there after an accident to be repaired. When they called me to tell me that it was ready to be picked up I noticed the bumper they had replaced wasn't replaced properly, the paint wasn't an exact match, my vehicle had vibration while driving. I took it back several times to have it fixed. I even pointed out the bumper before I left to the guy in the office, but he just kind of smirked and brushed it off. I recently found out (from a different shop) that one of my wheels was dented and cracked causing the vibration from the accident. I've been driving my vehicle in a dangerous condition to my family and others because of their careless and dangerous service.
Customer service is top notch at By Pass. I've taken my car there for over 5 years and each time have had nothing but quality service at the best price. They make sure the job is done right the first time!
This place doesn't even deserve one star. They are a joke. Their drivers tell you one thing and then when you get there they want money.. The owners talk to you like your dirt. They are very money hungry. They act all nice to u and then when your trying to tell then whats going on nothing is on them. I will never have my car there again. These people are disrespectful and they think they can talk to people any o way they want. They need to be shut down for good. They are lucky to have anyone go there for any kind of business. They need to get their crap together or hire people that knows what their policies are. They didnt even try to fix my issue they just wanted more money.........JOKES that is all these people are.
8/3/2016 My daughter's car stopped on w. Jefferson the police pull up to assist. I arrived and we still couldn't get it started. I attempted to call my normal tow guy at Diamond Towing with no answer. I called a few more with no answer. So I asked the officer if they knew of any I could call. They had dispatch call and Bypass showed up. I was told it would be $75 because the police assisted with the call instead of the $40. I told the driver to drop it back down, I'll call someone else. He said he would tow it and have the boss call me because there was no paperwork. Needless to say the car ended up at their tow yard. They wanted $75 plus another tow fee to take it where it was suppose to go in the first. I will never ever use them a rip off period.
On 7/14/16, I ran out of gas on I44 at mile marker 116. I called Geico roadside assistance and they found Bypass Autobody. They showed up in about 45 minutes, which is quick and the reason I give them 2 stars instead of one.
Geico tells me there won't be any out of pocket expenses, and they cover up to 5 gallons of gas. I run out of gas regularly (I can make it to the next one) so I know the drill. A nice new flatbed truck arrives driven by a man and his assistant who looks like Dog the Bounty Hunter's wife. She says there will be a $5 charge for the actual gasoline. Red flag. I decide to ignore it and wait until it's in the tank to dispute this.
My car has a capless fuel system which requires a special funnel for these situations. I installed this funnel before the truck arrived. The driver removes the funnel and starts pouring the gas, slopping it on the ground in the process, which he blames on the tank it's self. I said "you're supposed o use the funnel for this." He wasn't interested. After getting the car started, the woman mentions the $5 charge again, so I ask "what's this all about? Geico said they cover everything." They both tell me that they don't cover the actual gas and that I owe them $5, cash only. I offer them my last $2. They tell me that they will follow me to the next gas station and that I can use the ATM there. If I had $5, I would've tipped it to them, now they're not getting anything.
On the way to the gas station, I call Geico to ask if this $5 cash only fee is legit even though i already know the answer. They put me on hold while they call the shop. When get to the gas station, the driver pulls up and tells me they are all set. Guess they're gonna have to buy their own lunch.
I recommend you "bypass" this establishment.
Jul 16, 2016
Nearest Junkyards to By-pass Auto Body & 24 Hour Towing
Website
