Towing services in Portland, ME
Wheel-lift and flatbed tows to the shop, dealer or driveway you choose, any hour of the day.
What does a towing service in Portland include?
Our towing service in Portland is simple: one vehicle, one truck and one trip. We collect the car where it stopped and deliver it where you say, day or night, and the price for the whole job is agreed during the call, before a tow truck sets out.
Towing is the heart of our tow truck service in Portland. As a light-duty towing company, we move cars, SUVs, minivans and pickups from streets, driveways, parking lots and highway shoulders anywhere in the city or the towns around it. If the vehicle has dual rear wheels, a lift kit or a trailer attached, or is heavier than a pickup, mention it when you call. Some of those need a different truck, and if a job is not one for us, we tell you straight away so you can call someone who can do it.
The reasons for a tow vary: a car a jump could not revive, a breakdown on the way somewhere, a car left parked so long it is no longer safe to drive, or repair work at a shop it cannot be driven to. The steps do not change. We ask what we need to know, quote the total, send the right truck and take the car where it is going.
Wheel-lift, flatbed or dollies: which tow truck does your vehicle need?
The right truck depends on the drivetrain, what the maker says, how far the car is going and where it is sitting. We choose it on the call from what you tell us, and the maker's guidance wins.
Wheel-lift
A wheel-lift truck raises the front or the rear wheels off the ground, using a hydraulic lift or a hook and chains, and the car rolls behind on the rest. It is compact and quick to set up, and it suits many two-wheel-drive cars going a short way across town.
Flatbed
A flatbed winches the whole vehicle onto a hydraulic bed, so nothing touches the road on the way. AAA calls it the safest option. It is what we send for all-wheel-drive and electric cars, low or badly damaged cars, motorcycles and long trips.
Dollies
Dollies are small wheeled carts set under the wheels that would otherwise stay on the road, so a wheel-lift can carry a car with every wheel clear of the road. They help when a car is locked in Park or wedged into a tight space, but makers set limits: Tesla allows wheel lifts and dollies for a Model 3 only up to 35 miles and within the dollies' speed rating.
Tesla and other electric cars
Tesla recommends a flatbed or comparable transport for the Model 3 and the Model Y. The Model 3 manual says the car must never be carried with its tires free to spin, which risks significant damage and overheating, and that the warranty excludes damage from improper transport. On a Model Y, Tow Mode keeps the parking brake released while the car is winched onto the bed. A Cybertruck has to ride on a flatbed at least 21 feet long with all four tires off the ground, so tell us if that is what you drive.
Subaru and other all-wheel-drive vehicles
Subaru of America recommends carrying any Subaru on a flatbed tow truck and says to follow each model's owner's manual for towing. The BRZ and the 2019-and-later Crosstrek Hybrid have to ride on a flatbed with no wheel touching the road. If the manual for your AWD vehicle calls for a flatbed, tell us, and a flatbed is what comes.
Motorcycles
Honda's owner's manual says to carry a motorcycle on a motorcycle trailer, or on a flatbed truck or trailer with a loading ramp or lifting platform, held with tie-down straps, and warns that towing one with a wheel on the ground can seriously damage the transmission. A bike rides on our bed, strapped down.
Moving a car well beyond Portland, or a classic you want kept off the road entirely? Read about flatbed towing for long trips.
Where can a tow truck take your car?
Wherever you choose. We do not steer anyone to a shop; the car ends up wherever you say.
- Your mechanic. Call the shop first if you can, so it expects the car. If it will be closed when we get there, tell us how it takes after-hours drop-offs and where the key should go.
- A dealer. Give us the dealer's name and town, and let the service department know the car is coming.
- Home. Tell us about a steep or narrow driveway or a tight street. A driveway is the safer place for a car that cannot move: on a Portland street it is still subject to posted overnight parking limits and, in winter, to parking bans, and cars left out during a ban can be ticketed and towed.
- Another town. Falmouth is about 8 miles from Portland by car and Yarmouth about 12. Longer runs, such as the 26 miles to Brunswick or the 35 to Lewiston, are priced as a single figure too.
- The end of the road. A car that is finished can go straight to a scrapyard or recycler; ask us about junk car towing.
Towing after a crash, and towing from private property
After a collision
Injuries or a car blocking traffic mean 911 first. Once police are finished at the scene, we tow the car to the body shop, dealer or address you choose. Portland's ordinance lets a wrecker come to a crash or emergency scene only when police or someone involved called it (City Code Sec. 28-128), so no tow truck should turn up that nobody asked for.
At a crash a state trooper is working, Maine State Police policy (General Order E-60) applies: if the owner or driver is present and the car is not being impounded, the trooper asks whether they prefer a particular wrecker service and uses it unless it is unavailable or would take unreasonably long. Maine law also requires the liability policy on a car registered or mainly garaged in Maine to pay up to $500 per accident toward reasonable towing and storage if a law enforcement officer requested the tow (29-A M.R.S. ยง1605-B). That applies to policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, with exceptions such as policies that cover more than four vehicles. Our page on towing after an accident goes further.
From private property
We do not impound cars, patrol lots or remove vehicles for property owners and managers, and we are not the City's tow contractor. We move a car off private property when its owner or driver asks: a car that died in a store's lot, an apartment lot or someone else's driveway.
If a property owner had your car towed, the Portland, Maine towing rules still apply: the City's fee caps and drop-fee rule cover private-lot tows too, and you owe no towing fee if you get to the car and move it before it is hooked up (City Code Sec. 28-122). The caps are laid out on our page about the cost of a tow in Portland.
What should you tell a towing company when you call?
We ask where the car is sitting, what kind of vehicle it is, what state it is in and where it is headed. Those answers settle which truck comes, what it costs and how quickly a driver can find you.
- Where it is. A street address, or the street name and the closest intersection; the lot and the level; or the highway, which way you were heading and the exit you last passed, such as the Turnpike southbound just past Exit 46 for the Jetport.
- What it is. The year, make and model, plus anything that changes the truck: AWD, electric, lowered, a lift kit, dual rear wheels, a trailer, or damage that stops a wheel from turning.
- What it is doing. Whether it starts, rolls, steers and goes into neutral, whether you have the key, and whether it is on the pavement, in a snowbank or down a ditch. A car that has left the pavement may need winching out first.
- Where it goes. The shop, dealer or address, and whether someone will be there to take the key.
With that we quote one total for the job and tell you which truck is coming. If the driver finds a different job from the one described, you hear the new figure before any extra work, and you can turn it down.
Where does our towing service go?
Towing in Portland, for us, means every neighborhood, from Munjoy Hill and the Old Port to Deering Center, Stroudwater and North Deering; I-295 from its first exits in South Portland to Exit 10 in Falmouth; the Maine Turnpike from Exit 42 in Scarborough to Exit 53 in West Falmouth; the Casco Bay, Veterans Memorial, Tukey's and Martin's Point bridges; and the Jetport's garage and lots. Jobs on Peaks and the other islands depend on the Casco Bay Lines ferries, so call before you plan one.
Beyond the city line we tow in South Portland, Westbrook, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Gorham, Windham, Yarmouth, Cumberland and Freeport.
Other services from the same phone call
Flatbed & Long-Distance Towing
Flatbed tows for EVs, AWD cars and classics, and trips well beyond Portland.
Learn moreCollision Towing
After a crash, the car goes to the body shop or address you pick.
Learn moreWinch-Out & Snowbank Recovery
Back onto solid pavement from a snowbank, a ditch or soft ground.
Learn moreRoadside Assistance
On-the-spot fixes when the car can be made to run where it is.
Learn moreJump Start
A dead battery jumped at home, at work or in a Jetport lot.
Learn moreVehicle Lockout
Locked out? We open the door so you can reach your keys.
Learn moreFlat Tire Change
The spare mounted where you stopped, or a tow if there is no usable spare.
Learn moreGas Delivery
Fuel brought out when the tank runs dry short of a station.
Learn moreJunk Car Towing
A car that is finished, towed away, with the Maine title rules explained.
Learn more
Frequently asked questions
How much is a tow truck in Portland, ME?
The vehicle, the truck it needs, the distance and the work to load it all play a part, so we price the whole job on the phone before anyone is sent. Portland's tow ordinance (City Code Sec. 28-122) sets maximums for tows done without the owner's consent, such as $150 for a non-accident tow. For a tow you ask us for, you hear our price before anything moves.
When does a car need a flatbed tow truck?
When the maker calls for one or the job demands it. A flatbed is the right truck for AWD and electric cars, motorcycles, low or badly damaged cars and long trips; Tesla and Subaru of America both recommend one for their cars. Many two-wheel-drive cars going a short way across town are fine on a wheel-lift.
Can you tow my car to a shop that is closed?
Usually, if the shop takes after-hours drop-offs. Tell us the shop's name and how it wants the car and key left, and we follow its instructions. If it has no way to take the car, we can bring it home instead and plan the move to the shop for when it opens.
Do you tow cars off private parking lots?
Only when the car's owner or driver asks us to. We do not impound cars or remove them for property owners, and we are not the City's tow contractor. If your own car has broken down in a lot, we tow it wherever you choose.
Do you tow motorcycles?
Yes, on a flatbed, strapped down. Honda's owner's manual says a motorcycle should be carried on a trailer or a flatbed with a loading ramp or lifting platform and tie-down straps, and never towed with a wheel on the ground.
How long will the tow truck take to get to me?
That turns on how far away the nearest truck is, the traffic and the weather, so you get an honest estimate when you call, not a promise on a web page. If that changes while you wait, we call and tell you.
Need a tow in Portland right now?
Call any hour and get the full price before a truck heads out.
- Where the vehicle is, down to the cross street, lot level or exit
- Its year, make and model, plus AWD or EV if either applies
- Whether it starts, rolls and steers
- The destination - a repair shop, a dealership, home or another town