Anyone have a car impounded before?

[Selz202]

So apparently, one of my cars was impounded last Tuesday for being parked too long. I am now finding out today that it is at a yard about 30 miles from me. I had no notice of this even though they claim they sent one out the day they took it. Now they want to charge me $390 for towing it there and $50 a day for storage so $350 soon to be $400 tomorrow. This is all plus tax also. Oh also they declared the car abandoned 2 days ago and are going to auction it soon supposedly.

Does anyone know if I have I rights with this? I read through all the RCWs I could find and they all seem like they completely back the Impounding yard. I was never notified and now they are keeping my car and leaving me with a big bill for nothing.

Is there anything that I can do to alleviate some of the costs? I wouldn't mind paying $4-500, But this is going to end up being upwards of a grand.

 

[Mk3runner]

A 72 hr rule around here is to move your car or get it towed. If you haven't got any tickets on the car during it's time sitting then they have issues but if you left it sitting and neighbors or cops want to be dicks then it's possible. To auction it this soon tho seems odd.

Best bet is get some face time with the officer that wrote the car up and see what's going on. Get ready to bail your car out. I paid a g one time over bullshit.

 

[Selz202]

No cops involved. Was parked at my apartment and no doubt that it sat too long, its just the idea of practically stealing it and charging me a ridiculous amount and by the day that is backed by the law.

The law here is 120hrs before they class it as abandoned and auction able. I didn't find out until today. 170hrs.

 

[Mk3runner]

So go get in their shit. They probably want your car.

 

[Sideways_bob]

where im from they crush your car or auction it no question if its in violation

at least they are giving you a chance. not sure how they do it over here tho.

 

[KevinM]

Noooooo, don't let that thing go. That car was solid! If you need a trailer or anything, I can see if I can bring down my trailer and help you get it/haul it back.

Which towing company?

 

[Selz202]

lol not the Supra, tis one of my older Saabs. Its Burien towing/airport towing.

 

[KevinM]

lol not the Supra, tis one of my older Saabs. Its Burien towing/airport towing.

OK, then it's not as much of a worry..

 

[IwantMKIII]

They should give you a warning before they tow. If you didn't see it like in my case tough nuggies.


I'm my case I said screw you and let them keep the car lol.

 

[Selz202]

Did you come up with any financial repercussions?

If they auction the thing and get $100 for it (fuckers will probably charge me $600 for auctioning fee) then I will owe ~$1K. I definitely don't intend to pay that. Im also trying to buy a house by the end of the year, I don't want any negative credit I can't remove.

 

[IwantMKIII]

i just sold it to them since they were a junkyard. Supposedly though people just leave them and never pick them up all the time.

 

[lewis15498]

I thought it was ur supra i was gonna say, buy me a plane ticket and well go get it back right now! Now that we know its only a saab you have 4 choices.
1 Pay them now, cut your losses.
2 Pay them now, take them to court.
3 Tell them to go fuck, and let them keep the car.
4 Tell them to go fuck, then break in and steal it back.

If you want it back legally you gotta pay them asap cuz they wont give it to you w/o getting their money, and waiting is just gonna stack up more cash for them. If/when, you take them to small claims, the judge will order they return your money if he/she rules in your favor.

 

[mclabaugh]

i just got my supra out of inpound. it was in for like 60 days. the bill was up to almost $1500. i went up there pleaded with the owner. and got it out for $600. if you like the car and want it back that is what i would do.
the only real money they are out is for the tow and for any legal paperwork that they have sent out. the storage fees are pretty much BS.

 

[BlackSS]

Need the whole story if you want help from anyone with real legal background here. Funny thing about human nature, people seem to only add things in stories that make them look like a victim or not at fault and convienantly omit or twist anything that would detrimental to them. Sad thing is, you want REAL help we need the WHOLE story. People don't get their car towed from their own apartment when it's parked legally, within the rules, and if they actually live there still (i'm gonna guees you don't, hence why you weren't notified. But I could be wrong since I have NOTHING to go by).

Reason I say that is because a certified letter is usually the rule of thumb courts use for validating contact. Possible scenario here: You might have left (maybe on bad terms?) and left you car there for whatever reason. One of the neat things about a properly run apartment complex is that they ask for a forwarding addres, just for instances like these. Being that you knew car would be there for awhile, for whatever reason, and you didn't want them bugging you, you didn't leave a forwarding address or an incorrect one. That would cause a mess like this.

There is a guideline for places to do this in a legal manner depending on the state. If any one of those guidelines were skipped or done incorrectly you MIGHT have something.....I'm guessing they did it correctly though. Again, need full story (even the bad stuff that makes you look bad) to get any kind of help.

 

[Selz202]

Are you looking for something like this?

No cops involved. Was parked at my apartment and no doubt that it sat too long,

My apt. had no way of really knowing whos car it was, the spots aren't marked and its one big mass parking for ~40 buildings. It sat for a good few months.

 

[BlackSS]

Are you looking for something like this?

My apt. had no way of really knowing whos car it was, the spots aren't marked and its one big mass parking for ~40 buildings. It sat for a good few months.

I read that, hence why I knew it was in the apartment complex parking lot, which btw you haven't said whether you were living there or not at the time. Your car also has this nifty little thing called a VIN. Running a VIN will determine if the vehicle is registered, to whom, and who's it's titled to. I'm going to assume, since you said they have no way of knowing who's it is, there was no tag on it. That in and of itself is probably a rules violation that would get it towed anyways. If there was, well duh, that's how they know who's it is. Which leads us to another question, is your address information up to date with the DMV? If not, well there's why you never received a notice.....it wasn't sent to your current address. There's a reason these things are required.

I also read this

its just the idea of practically stealing it

Which is implying you are some sort of victim. So let's find out if you are the victim shall we? And if you are, help is available. A few more questions to get underway:

Again, did you live at the apartment complex during the time the car was there and it was towed?

If so, how did you NOT notice it missing for a week and have no questions or at least try and file a stolen vehicle report?

You say the parking lot is for 40 buildings. Does the apartment complex own the parking lot, or is it jointly used with some of those other buildings? That is assuming you mean 40 other separate buildings and not 40 different apartments withing the complex.

Was the car registered to you, or only titled and not registered?

As you can see when a normal, reasonable, and unbiased person reads your problems without acting on emotion of how bad you have it......a lot of holes begin to appear. I'm still not one way or the other about the incident though, you could indeed be a victim......but you could also be looking how to wiggle out of a mess you clearly made for yourself to begin with. Who knows? But the way the story was portrayed seems like a lot of info is left out, and people USUALLY do that because the information is damning to them or the cause.

 

[92nsx]

Pucker up your cheeks and pay up. Longer you wait the more it will cost. That is unless you want to give them your car for free.

2 yrs ago I parked my caddy at a friends apartment, and went on to party all night. I come to find my car missing in the morning, called police to report it stollen and was told it was towed due to illegal parking. That cost me $350 for a couple hours of storage. :icon_evil:icon_evil. The price we pay to have a fun time.

 

[BlackSS]

I guess you just paid and moved on?

 

[Selz202]

I paid... been too busy with work to look into / pursue any further.