Impound & storage fees · West Side, IL

How much does it cost to get a car out of impound in West Side?

A plain-English guide to impound and storage costs in West Side: release fees, daily storage, the paperwork you need, and how to get your car back for less.

What drives the price

Why impound & storage fees costs what it does in West 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.

An abandoned vehicle on a West Side street is reported through 311, and the city impounds those at Pound 2 at 103rd and Doty Avenue or Pound 6 at 701 N Sacramento. Pound 6 is the closer of the two to this side. 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.

Local context

How we work West Side

The West Side here means Austin at roughly 97,500 residents, Humboldt Park at 56,200, and the western edge of the Near West Side. Austin is 69 percent Black and 21.8 percent Hispanic; Humboldt Park is 53.8 percent Hispanic and 30.2 percent Black. The Eisenhower Expressway is the spine, and it has been since 1949, when its construction cut through the southern portion of Austin and left the Galewood pocket isolated behind an industrial corridor and the rail tracks. North Avenue, Chicago Avenue, Madison Street and Cicero Avenue carry the arterial traffic, and Austin Boulevard is the Oak Park line. Austin holds six National Register listings, including the Austin Historic District, Austin Town Hall Park and Columbus Park, and Loretto Hospital serves the neighborhood. Humboldt Park's Spanish is heavily Puerto Rican in origin while Austin's Hispanic share leans Mexican, so we keep our Spanish in plain, neutral terms that read right to both. Two things drive call volume: I-290 breakdown and crash work, and a high rate of abandoned and long-parked vehicles that generates city tow activity. Operators cover the Eisenhower corridor, North and Chicago Avenues and the Austin Boulevard line, running flatbed for expressway work and wheel-lift for the residential call.

West Side rate card

West 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.

City tow fee, under 8,000 lbs $250 City of Chicago, 9-92-080 M.C.C.
City tow fee, 8,000 lbs and over $350 City of Chicago, 9-92-080 M.C.C.
City storage, per day $50 / $100 Under 8,000 lbs / 8,000 lbs and over
Time before disposal No less than 21 days From the date the city mails notice; one 15-day extension, 9-92-100(a)

Want the exact number for your car? Call (773) 830-6930 and we'll quote the job in under 60 seconds.

West Side pricing FAQs

Common West Side cost questions

How much does it cost to get my car out of impound in West 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 West 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 West 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 West 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.

Nearby

Impound & storage fees in the rest of the Chicago City Sides area

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