Portsmouth Garage, Tow Co. Hauling Strong After 4 Years

on East Main Road continues to handle a wide variety of service calls from the strange tows to the routine tire checks. 

With summer and the hotter temperatures fast approaching, Ray's Auto Clinic is seeing an increase in calls. 

Owned by John Taggart, a 15-year Portsmouth resident, Ray's Auto Clinic has operated out of its East Main Road location for the past four years. The towing side of the business previously operated from a site on West Main Road. 

After just four years, the business with five employees has received its fair share of accolades. The shop has received the AAA Excellence Award in Roadside Assistance for four years, as well as the Ace Award for Service Excellence for three years. 

Taggart, a graduate of Roger Williams University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business management and finance, has worked on cars since the age of 16. He says the shop handles just about "everything." 

"We do just about everything here," he says. "Complete auto care service."

"Everything" is an understatement. What's the strangest call for service John's received? 

"We've had to jump start an electric wheelchair," Taggart says. "They called me up and it was an old lady. She called AAA and asked if we could come up and jump start her wheelchair. I felt bad, so we went out and did it."

Taggart says he was surprised, however, by a certain call last summer. 

"One year, for the Fourth of July, my first police call was to tow a golf cart stopped on Bristol Ferry Road for DUI," he says. "You never know. We pull cars out of water. We tow just about anything." 

Full disclosure: I recently took my vehicle to Ray's Auto Clinic for repairs.