How much does it cost to get a car out of impound in Southwest Side?
A plain-English guide to impound and storage costs in Southwest Side: release fees, daily storage, the paperwork you need, and how to get your car back for less.
Why impound & storage fees costs what it does in Southwest Side
Inside the city the numbers are published and they are not ours. Under Municipal Code 9-92-080 the City of Chicago charges $250 to tow a vehicle under 8,000 pounds and $350 at or above it, with storage at $50 or $100 per day on the same weight split. Payment is cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club only, with no checks and no money orders. The four pounds, Central at 500 E Wacker Dr, O'Hare on Bessie Coleman Drive, Pound 2 at 103rd and Doty and Pound 6 at 701 N Sacramento, all run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Note that the city's winter parking-ban page publishes a different set of figures for ban tows, a minimum $150 towing fee, a $60 ticket and $25 a day storage, so check which one applies to you.
A Southwest Side tow inside the city goes to a City of Chicago pound, and the fees are published: $250 to tow a vehicle under 8,000 pounds, $350 at 8,000 pounds or more, and $50 or $100 per day storage on the same split. Payment is cash or major card only. Se habla espanol, and the corralon process is the same one either way. A City of Chicago tow has published fees: $250 to tow a vehicle under 8,000 pounds and $350 at 8,000 pounds or more, with storage at $50 or $100 per day on the same weight split, under Municipal Code 9-92-080. Payment is cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club only, with no checks and no money orders. To release a vehicle you need photo identification, proof of ownership as a title, a current registration card or a bill of sale under 30 days old, current state plates and a Chicago Vehicle Sticker where required, and all charges and fines paid in full. Vehicles are normally stored no less than 21 days from the date the city mails notice, with a right to one 15-day extension under 9-92-100(a); request it from the Auto Pound Office at 312.746.4954.
How we work Southwest Side
The Southwest Side is the Spanish-language core of Chicago and one of the densest Mexican-American areas in the United States. Gage Park is 88.8 percent Hispanic, West Lawn 88 percent, South Lawndale, which everyone calls Little Village, 80.7 percent with about 69,900 residents, Archer Heights 79.5 percent, Brighton Park 78.8 percent, the Lower West Side, which everyone calls Pilsen, 68.2 percent, New City, which everyone calls Back of the Yards, 67.5 percent, Chicago Lawn 61 percent and Garfield Ridge 59.1 percent. The Stevenson Expressway runs along the district's northern edge with Pilsen exits at Damen and Ashland, Archer Avenue runs the old diagonal, and Cermak, Western, Ashland and Pulaski carry the rest. Twenty-Sixth Street in Little Village hosts the largest Hispanic parade in Chicago. Pilsen has three Pink Line stops at Western, Damen and 18th Street. New City is bounded by Pershing Road, Western, the Norfolk Southern tracks and Garfield Boulevard and held the Union Stock Yards from 1865 until 1971. Midway International Airport sits on the western flank. Every Spanish page on this site is written for a reader here, in the register people actually use: carro, grua, corralon. Operators cover the Stevenson corridor, the Midway edge and the 26th Street and Archer Avenue commercial spines.
Southwest Side impound & storage fees at a glance
Ranges reflect Chicago City Sides conditions. Every job is quoted before dispatch, with the number stated on the call, with the mileage that goes into it.
Want the exact number for your car? Call (773) 830-6930 and we'll quote the job in under 60 seconds.
Common Southwest Side cost questions
How much does it cost to get my car out of impound in Southwest Side?
If the City of Chicago towed it, the fees are published. Under Municipal Code 9-92-080 the tow is $250 for a vehicle under 8,000 pounds and $350 at 8,000 pounds or more, and storage is $50 or $100 per day on the same split. Payment is cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club only; checks and money orders are not accepted. Call 311 first to find out which pound has it, because the city also relocates vehicles rather than impounding them, and a relocated car has not gone to a pound at all. Note that the city's winter parking-ban page publishes different figures for ban tows: a minimum $150 towing fee, a $60 ticket and $25 per day storage.
What do I need to get my impounded car back in Southwest Side?
For a City of Chicago pound you need valid photo identification for everyone claiming the vehicle, proof of ownership as a valid title, a current registration card or a bill of sale not more than 30 days old, a lease agreement if you are the lessee, and an original notarized letter from the owner if you are acting for them. The vehicle also needs current state plates and a Chicago Vehicle Sticker where required, and a valid driver's licence if you are driving it out. All charges and fines have to be paid in full. A suburban impound sets its own list, so ask the department that ordered the tow what it needs.
What happens if I don't pick up my car in Southwest Side?
A vehicle at a City of Chicago pound is normally stored for no less than 21 days from the date the city mails notice to the registered owner, and under 9-92-100(a) the registered owner has the right to one extension of 15 days before it is sold or otherwise disposed of. Request that extension from the Auto Pound Office at 312.746.4954. If the vehicle is never claimed it can be disposed of or sold at auction, and the owner still owes the fines and fees. Storage accrues the whole time, so calling early costs less than calling late.
Can Quick Tow Chicago get my car out of impound in Southwest Side?
No, and it is worth being straight about that. We connect drivers with private tow and roadside operators; we are not the pound, the village or the police department holding your car, so we cannot waive anyone's fees or release it faster. What we can do is help you work out who has it and what the process is, and line up an operator to move it once it is released. Call (773) 830-6930.
Related towing info for Southwest Side
Impound & storage fees in the rest of the Chicago City Sides area
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