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Recently our family experienced a bad car accident and luckily no one was seriously hurt. Immediately after the accident, we went directly to the hospital. It was left up to the CHP (California Highway Patrol) to take care of the scene, which means having a tow truck tow the totaled vehicle away in order to clear up traffic.
Meanwhile at the hospital, we were eventually visited by the CHP who asked us for more information from the accident. He then provided us with the case number, as well as the location where the vehicle was towed to. Our vehicle was towed to a tow yard called Action Towing in Redwood City. Depending on the scene of the accident, the location where you vehicle is towed to can differ. In our experience, this occurred in the Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, and so our vehicle was towed to the Redwood City location.
I want to offer up our experience as we really didn’t know what to do with our vehicle after it was towed to the Action Towing lot. When it happened to us, I was left trying to find out information directly from the employees at Action Towing, and from vague information I read from online searches. I hope the information in this article helps you if your vehicle gets towed away after an accident and you are left trying to figure out what to do next.
My general recommendation for figuring out what to do next after your vehicle has been towed after an accident is to ACT FAST. I say this because the fees can add up pretty quickly with each passing day and although they are providing a service for towing your vehicle away, you’re in a vulnerable position and therefore you want to minimize the amount you have to pay when all is said and done.
The Costs at the Tow Yard
Our car accident occurred on a late Friday afternoon and it wasn’t until Saturday that I called Action Towing to find out what I can do next. Well, here come the fees…
They told me that for my vehicle it would be $319 for the tow to their yard alone, and $110 per day for storage (their sign says $100, but they insisted it was $110 now.) And since it was already the weekend, they would charge an additional $135 gate fee just to allow me access to my vehicle over the weekend. Finally, they didn’t even tell me about the Lien Fee of $70 if I had the vehicle there longer than 72 hours. One more issue I have about their pricing is that even though they stored the vehicle from Friday evening until Monday afternoon, they still charged me for 4 days instead of 3 because they count Friday as one full day.
Below is the a picture of the Action Towing fees on a sign in their office, which lays out all of the pricing and other important information. You should figure out what you plan on doing with the vehicle (relinquish it to the tow yard, have insurance take care of it, have it towed to your residence, etc.) and decide on what makes the most sense financially as the fees can add up.
For me, my vehicle did not have collision on the insurance and since it was a hit-and-run without video evidence, we were left with nothing. Therefore, I was trying to decide if I wanted to keep the vehicle (the front was pretty much destroyed) or if I wanted to sign it over to Action Towing.
Action Towing informed me that if I signed it over to them, they would not charge me for the daily storage rate (about $400 at that point). I took some time to think about it even calling the local junkyards to see what they would buy my car for (they offered me about $400 to buy the car.) I knew that I could actually part-out my car and make a couple thousand dollars, but it would take a lot of time and effort to do so. I would also have to get a tow truck to tow the vehicle home and deal with it there. Therefore, I eventually decided to leave the car with them. My total cost ended up being the cost of the tow plus the lien fee.
Keep in mind that if you want to pull parts off your car while you’re at the tow yard, they won’t let you. In fact, there is someone there with you the whole time you’re accessing your vehicle. I’ve heard of folks who really wanted or needed parts from their car and had a different tow truck (e.g. if you have a AAA membership, you get free towing with your membership) tow the vehicle out of the yard, pull the parts they needed, and then had it towed back into the yard. And that’s if the tow yard allows you to do this.
Accessing the Vehicle at the Tow Yard
If you’re trying to get access to your personal belongings, you can do so without paying for anything at the time (unless you’re coming in during the weekend for which you’d have to pay the gate fee to get in.) An employee will escort you to your vehicle and stay with you for the duration of the time you’re in your vehicle.
You can get all of your personal items as needed. If you have a lot of stuff like I did, they’ll let you drive your vehicle up so you can transfer your personal effects. I’ve heard of people bringing some tools in their pockets to take this opportunity to grab small items off their car if they plan to give up their car to the tow company and try to part out some of these items later.
My Two Cents
After getting in an accident, you’re already dealing with a lot of things. Trying to figure out what to do with your vehicle sometimes is just the last thing on your mind. It’s not until later when you have time that you contact the tow yard trying to figure out next steps and find out that the costs have already been adding up ever since your vehicle was towed.
In situations like these, you just have to accept that you’re in a vulnerable position and you’re probably going to have to pay up because you’re dealing with the situation after-the-fact. This means the tow company has already towed your vehicle and the clock is already ticking by the time you have the opportunity to figure out what to do.
Now, I guess I’ll play devil’s advocate and say that perhaps the pricing is justified on the tow company’s part. Of course they have to charge for towing your vehicle, and of course storing the vehicle amounts to some cost as well. And when I decided to sign over my vehicle to them, they could have just said that I still needed to pay for the full amount, but they offered to waive the storage fee which was about $440.
So to sum it all up, try your best to act fast. You’re already going to be on the hook for the tow fee, so the sooner you act, the less storage fees you’ll have to pay. Also keep in mind the fees related to the gate fee and the lien fee (and possibly other fees depending on who you’re dealing with.) Just expect to have to pay up, but at least if you act sooner rather than later, it’ll be less of a dent in your wallet.
