Need a classic car moved in Boston? Boston Towing Service dispatches around the clock across Boston, MA. Towing a classic car is not the same job as towing a sedan — it comes down to weight rating, deck length, and how the vehicle is secured — so we confirm what you are driving before a truck rolls, and quote the price before the hook goes on.
The right equipment for a classic car
Sending an under-rated truck is how a tow turns into damage. Our dispatcher matches the load to the equipment — deck, wheel-lift, or heavy wrecker — and the operator secures it to the manufacturer’s tie-down points rather than whatever is reachable.
A classic car that won't start after sitting all winter, or stalls on the way to a cruise night, needs soft straps or wheel nets, not chain hooks on a bumper — the sheet metal and trim won't take it. Boston Towing Service dispatches 24 hours a day; published local towing rates in Boston run about $50 to $125.
Most classic-car tow calls aren't breakdowns in the everyday sense — they're a car that sat in a garage for months and won't turn over the first weekend it's asked to, or a fuel system gummed up from ethanol-blend gas sitting in the tank since fall. Whichever it is, the car usually isn't blocking anything urgent; it's parked at the owner's house or a car show, and the pressure is protecting the car, not clearing a lane.
That changes how it gets loaded. Older brakes and skinny bias-ply or reproduction tires weren't built for a wheel-lift's tug, and thin original sheet metal dents where a modern bumper wouldn't. Boston Towing Service anchors to the frame or the axle with soft straps or wheel nets instead of chain hooks on the bumper or rocker panel, and loads by flatbed when the car's ride height or condition calls for it. Dispatch is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the calls that don't wait — a stall on the way to a show with a schedule.
Why do classic cars stall after sitting all year?
Ethanol-blended pump gas breaks down in a tank over a few months, leaving varnish in the carburetor or fuel lines that a daily driver never has time to build up. Old rubber fuel lines and gaskets dry out the same way, and a battery that held a charge in September is often dead by the first warm Saturday in spring. None of that is a roadside fix — it's a reason to load the car, not try to jump it and hope.
How is towing a classic car different from a daily driver?
The rigging matters more than the truck. A chain hook on a modern bumper is routine; on a car with real chrome and thin steel, it can crease a panel that costs more to fix than the tow. Boston Towing Service anchors to the frame or axle with straps or wheel nets built for it, and Boston-market rates for a standard tow are typically published in the $50–$125 range — a flatbed load or a longer haul to a specialist shop outside the city runs toward the higher end of that.
Do you tow classic and antique cars?
Yes — Boston Towing Service uses soft straps or wheel nets on classic cars instead of chain hooks, and a flatbed when the car's condition calls for it. Call (781) 557-4323; dispatch is staffed 24 hours a day.
Can you tow a car that hasn't run in years?
Yes, a non-running classic can still be loaded and moved — the truck doesn't need the engine to turn over, just wheels that roll, or a flatbed if they don't. Mention the condition when you call so the right equipment shows up.
What if the car is at a car show or a private garage, not a repair shop?
That's a normal pickup point, whether it's a show field, a driveway, or a storage garage — just flag it if access is tight, since older neighborhoods and show lots often are.