Towing is tough.

Granted, it's no fun to return to your car and find that it's missing.

But tow-truck owners and operators say they are also having a tough time making it in an increasingly competitive industry, even in a city where legal parking spots are scarce.

It's hardly worth dealing with greasy wheels and angry car-owners, they said, when bidding matches slash profits to a minimum.

"Sometimes it's unpleasant, but you've got to do what you've got to do," said Robert A. Gatta, one of the owners of Cambridge Towing. "It's not a very fun business."

In order to be awarded contracts to tow cars from Cambridge public streets, towing companies undergo a competitive bidding process, city officials said. The Cambridge Parking Office handles the bidding process and awards the contracts to the three lowest bidding companies.

Pat's Towing, Phil's Towing and Cambridge Towing are the companies designated for the three-year period that began on April 1, 1992.

The process was so competitive this year that last year's average towing price of $32.50 dropped to $24.50 for two of those companies and $18.85 for the other, said Bernie A. Flynn, the assistant director of parking.

Flynn said police keep a rotating list of companies for those cars illegally parked, compounded and abandoned. As soon as the police ticket a car, the next company on the list is called to do the tow, Flynn said.

The companies are also required to take turns providing eight tow trucks to clear certain areas for street cleaning.

Before getting the chance to bid, the companies must meet other qualifications, including a requirement that the garage has to be within one mile of the city border.

Two of the companies that were awarded the contract, Pat's and Cambridge Towing, have recently moved to Somerville, just past the Cambridge city limits. Phil's Towing is near Fresh Pond in Cambridge.

Flynn said increasing land values in Cambridge make it economically unreasonable for towing companies to stay in the city.

Flynn said complaints about towing companies are "surprisingly very few," and most have to do with the "rudeness" of the towing operators.

"If we see a pattern, we'll discontinue the contracts. But like I've said, we've only had very few [complaints]," Flynn said.

Someone who would only identify himself as Billy at Pat's Towing said "there were probably thousands of complaints."

Considering this, and the decline in the price of Pat's Towing to $24.50 per public tow, Billy said it's unlikely that the company will reenter the bidding process the next time it is opened.

Gatta, the part-owner of Cambridge Towing, has more hope for the future of towing.

"Dollar-wise, it's not really worth it when the volume is not great,...but we'll try to increase the prices during the next bidding season," Gatta said.

Philip P. Bard, the Phil of Phil's Towing, operating with the lowest bid of $18.85 per tow, is the only one who doesn't seemed fazed by the towing price wars.

Bard said Phil's towing took an extremely low bid and therefore knocked B & B Towing off the city's list.

"You really have to bid this way in order to get the volume of work," Bard said.

Besides having part of the city contract, Phil's also does private towing on the lucrative and busy stretch of Winthrop Street in Harvard Square. On the weekend, Bard said, Phil's tows between 10 to 15 cars on this short street.

To administer this private contract, Phil's operates independently of the police, patrolling the area themselves in order to find a car illegally parked.

But life as a towing operator is never easy, said Bard. "Let's face it, your average person doesn't like to be towed."

To cover all possible damage claims, Bard said he contracts with eight to 12 body shops and has his share of insurance.

"Even still, after eight years of business, I've only been to small claims court four or five times," Bard said.

Norman C. Picard, the manager of Phil's Towing, prefers to stay behind the desk.

"I dispatch the calls. I don't want to get dirty and deal with the grease and the grime," Picard said. "You'd be surprised how many just don't get it, and get towed again and again."

Towing for private streets is an entirely different matter, for the most part exempt from competitive bidding and open to dominance by single towing companies.

Harvard University, for example, has all of it's towing work done by Pat's Towing.

"Pat's has been towing for Harvard for 30 years. He's the absolute best guy you can get," said Harvard Police Officer Philip E. Murphy.

"They know that if they want the contract they have to be honest. And Pat's is honest," Murphy said.

Since this process is not organized by competitive bid, however, the rates charged are only subject to the maximum rate charge established by the Public Works Department. A car towed out of a Harvard lot will cost the owner $60 on average for towing costs--much more than if the car was towed off of a Cambridge Street.