Long-Distance Towing

When a tow has to leave the county

Most of our towing stays inside Washtenaw County. When it doesn't, the trip usually falls into one of a few patterns.

• Broke down away from home. You live in Ypsilanti, but the car quit in Lansing, Jackson, or Brighton and you want it at the mechanic you trust, not a shop you found on the shoulder.
• Dealer and warranty work. Not every brand has a dealer nearby. An EV, a European car, or a recall repair can mean a drive to a dealership in Novi, Troy, or Detroit, and a car that can't be driven has to be carried there.
• Buying a car that doesn't run. A project car or a classic from a private seller in Grand Rapids, Flint, or Toledo, bought as-is and in need of a ride home.
• Moving. A second car that nobody wants to drive across the state, or a vehicle that has to be at a new address before you arrive.
• University moves. A student car that needs to get home from Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti at the end of a term, or back to campus in the fall.

How the trip is planned

A long tow is planned before the truck leaves Ypsilanti. Dispatch asks for the pickup address, the destination address, the vehicle, and whether it runs. Those four answers set the route, the way the car is loaded, and the price.

The vehicle rides fully on the truck for the whole trip. Nothing turns under it, which matters for all-wheel drive and electric vehicles, and nothing gets the wear of a hundred highway miles on its own tires. The driver checks the straps before leaving and again at every stop, because tie-downs settle on a long run and a check at mile one is not a check at mile ninety.

If the car is going to a dealership or a body shop, tell dispatch the shop's hours. A delivery that arrives after the service desk closes can usually be dropped in the lot with the key in a night box, but only if the shop allows it. Dispatch will plan around it instead of guessing.

Getting the car ready

1. Take everything you'll need out of the car. Garage remotes, chargers, paperwork, child seats. The car may be at the other end for a while before you see it again.
2. Leave the key with the car or tell dispatch who has it. A locked car with no key can still be loaded, but it takes longer, and the person at the other end will need a key to move it.
3. Write down anything unusual. A parking brake that sticks, a car that only shifts out of park with a trick, low ground clearance, a roof box. All of it is easier to plan for than to discover.
4. Note existing damage. Take a few photos before the truck arrives. The driver walks around the car at pickup too.

What the price covers

Long-distance tows are priced as a hook-up fee plus loaded miles, and the loaded miles make up most of a long trip. Dispatch works out the mileage from the two addresses and tells you the full figure on the phone, before the truck is booked. The receipt lists the hook-up, the loaded miles, and any add-on on separate lines.

We don't bill insurance directly. If your policy or a roadside benefit covers towing, you pay us and submit the itemized receipt for reimbursement. Some policies cap towing at a set distance, so it is worth checking before a long trip rather than after.

Long-distance and local, same company

The truck that takes your car across the state is the same truck that handles a light-duty tow across town. Collector cars on a long run get the extra care described on our classic and luxury car towing page, and every long trip rides on the deck as described in flatbed towing. If the car is dead in a driveway and only needs a jump-start to drive itself, dispatch will tell you that before you pay for a tow.