Here’s the part nobody warns you about. When your car gets towed, the clock starts immediately. Every day it sits in that lot, you’re getting charged a storage fee. Those fees add up fast — and in some cases, after just a handful of days, the total bill can actually exceed what the car is worth.
And if you don’t come get it? They can sell it.
Every city and state sets its own timeline. In New York City, for example, towed vehicles are sold at auction if not retrieved within 10 business days from the tow date. That’s not a long time, especially if you don’t even know your car was taken right away. Your city or state may have a different deadline — check your local rules as soon as possible.
Before a tow company can sell your vehicle, they typically have to follow some rules. In Portland, Oregon, for instance, the tower must send written notice to the registered owner and anyone listed as a lienholder on the DMV record before moving forward with a sale. So they generally can’t just flip your car overnight without warning — but requirements vary by state. And that notice might go to an old address if your registration isn’t current, which is its own problem.
When the car does get auctioned, the money goes toward paying off the towing and storage debt first. If the sale price is higher than what’s owed, the leftover money legally has to go back to you as the former owner. But if your car sells for less than the fees — which can happen with older or lower-value vehicles — you could end up with nothing, and depending on your state, you may still owe a remaining balance. Check your local laws to understand your exposure.
If you think a tow was wrongful or the fees are off, you usually have options. In Texas, you can request a tow hearing at a Justice of the Peace Court within 14 days of the tow. Most states have some version of this — a way to dispute it officially. But you have to act. Waiting and hoping it works itself out is how people lose cars they could’ve kept.