Flatbed Towing in Albertson, NY, for Cars That Should Never Be Dragged

The older style of tow truck, the wheel-lift, picks up one end of the car and tows it with the other end rolling. For a plain front-wheel-drive sedan going a couple of miles to a mechanic in Albertson, that is fine. But the cars in Nassau County driveways have changed. All-wheel-drive crossovers, electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and low sports cars are everywhere, and every one of them is damaged by a two-wheel tow in a way that does not show up until the transfer case, the drive motor, or the front bumper fails later.

A flatbed solves the problem by not asking the car to do anything. The deck tilts and slides to the ground, the winch pulls the car up it, and a strap goes over each tire. The suspension works normally, the drivetrain never turns, and nothing on the body or frame takes the load. A car with a seized engine, locked wheels, a broken axle, or a crushed front end comes aboard the same way, without being pushed or started.

Macarthur runs its own flatbeds out of 170 East Lincoln Avenue in Valley Stream, and they are the trucks that come to Albertson for anything that should not be dragged. The flatbed towing page covers the truck in detail; the sections below cover what matters when the car is sitting in Albertson and you are on the phone with us.

Where you are: a house number, a cross street, or a business name in Albertson, and whether the car is on the street, in a driveway, in a lot, or in a garage. A garage matters because a flatbed is tall and may not fit under the entrance; tell us the posted clearance and we either send a wheel-lift for a car that can take one or meet the car at the garage exit. What the car is: year, make, and model tells us whether it is all-wheel-drive or electric and whether it needs the long ramps. If it is damaged, say where. Where it is going: your mechanic, a dealership, a tire shop, your driveway, or our collision shop in Valley Stream, with the name and address ready.

When the flatbed arrives, the driver lines the truck up with the car, tilts and extends the deck to the ground, connects the winch to the car's tow point, releases the parking brake, puts the car in neutral if it will shift, and winches it up the deck with the wheels straight. A car that will not shift goes up on wheel skates so nothing drags. On the deck, a strap goes over each tire and is ratcheted to the rails, so the car is held by its wheels and the suspension works normally during the tow. Deck up, straps rechecked, keys secured, and he goes.

If you want a photo of the car for your records, take one before it is loaded; the driver will not mind. Whether you can ride along depends on the truck and the situation, so ask. The what to tell us section on the towing page has the full checklist for any tow, not just a flatbed.

Some tow companies tow to their own lot by default and charge you to get the car back. Macarthur does not. If the car has body damage, the shortest path is straight to 170 East Lincoln Avenue, where one tow, one estimate, and one company talking to your insurer take over; the collision repair in Albertson page explains how that runs for Albertson drivers. If it is a mechanical breakdown, give us the shop's name and address and the car goes there. If the shop is closed when the truck arrives, we can leave the car in their lot with the keys handled the way they ask, or bring it to our yard overnight and run it over when they open; say which when you call.

For a flat with no spare or a bent wheel, the flatbed goes to the tire shop you name. For a project car, a car coming home from a shop that could not fix it, or a car you bought as-is, the driver places it in your driveway in Albertson where you want it, within reason, because a flatbed needs room to tilt the deck and a clear path for the car to roll off. For a non-running car bought at auction or from a private seller, the driver photographs it before loading and confirms the VIN against the title you send us. The where we tow section on the towing page has the rest.

Most of the delay in a collision repair happens before anyone touches the car: it sits at a tow yard, waits for an inspection, waits for a second tow to a shop, and then waits for an estimate that has already been written once. Because Macarthur's flatbeds and Macarthur's body shop are the same business, a car recovered in Albertson is in the shop's lot the same day, and the estimate, the photographs, and the adjuster's inspection all happen where the car will be fixed.

The shop at 170 East Lincoln Avenue is certified by Honda and Acura, Nissan, Infiniti, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, and Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, is I-CAR Gold Class, and repairs every make and model to the manufacturer's procedure; the plaques are on the certifications page. Under New York law you choose the body shop, not your insurer, and the insurance claim repair in Albertson page explains what to tell the adjuster. If you would rather the car went to your own mechanic or dealer, it does; the destination is always yours.