Runaway Bay and the water
Two ramps and a marina
The council runs boat ramps at Ray Street on Biggera Creek and Howard Street on the Broadwater, and the Bayview Harbour Yacht Squadron marina opens onto the Broadwater too. Reversing a trailer down a ramp puts salt water around the back of the tow car.
Salt finds the steel
Salt from seawater makes steel rust faster. RACQ's advice after a beach drive is to clean under the vehicle as soon as practical to get the salt water off, and the same habit suits a car that's been down the ramp.
Where Runaway Bay sits
The suburb runs from Biggera Creek in the south to Poinsettia Avenue in the north, with Oxley Drive and Pine Ridge Road on its western side and the Broadwater to the east. Surfers Paradise is 11.1 km south, so put the postcode of the car, not the office, in the card.
Queensland's rules
Queensland has no general licence for mechanics, so ask about the business's ABN, its insurance and who'll do the work. Selling a registered car here means handing the buyer a safety certificate from an approved inspection station.
What towing does to the car in front
The tow car does the hard work. RACV counts regular towing among the conditions that can call for a service around every six months, and RACT finds transmission breakdowns, slipping clutches and gears that won't select are more common in cars towing a trailer, boat or caravan.
For an automatic that does a lot of heavy towing, RACQ says an extra or larger transmission cooler is often worth fitting, and some makers' towing packages require one. Your owner's manual has the towing limits and the schedule for towing use.
If the gearbox starts to slip or flare between gears, gearbox repairs on the Gold Coast explains what the mechanic looks at. For a diesel 4WD that pulls the boat, 4WD servicing covers the rest.
If it were our car
After a day on the water we'd hose the underside of the tow car with fresh water, then ask the mechanic to check the underbody, brake lines and towbar area for rust at each service. If it tows most weekends, we'd follow the harder schedule in the book rather than the standard one.