Your car was towed from private property in Arcadia
If your car was towed from a lot, apartment, or HOA in Arcadia, here is what the operator can charge and what the law requires.
What Arizona law says
A trespass tow off a lot, apartment, or HOA is a separate regime from a police impound, and the fees are different. In Phoenix, City Code 36-6 caps the total tow charge at $105 for a vehicle that reached storage, storage at $12 a day, a load-and-unload where you demand release before the vehicle leaves at $20, and a load, transport, and unload where you demand release in transit at $40. The operator may not hold your car as security for the charges or require security as a condition of release, though they can ask for ID for billing. Under ARS 9-499.05, a lot must be posted with clear signs that state the parking restrictions, what happens to a vehicle in violation, the maximum cost to you including storage, and a phone number and address where the car can be found.
How it works in Arcadia
- 1 Confirm it was a trespass tow, not police
A tow off a lot, apartment, or HOA is a private-property tow, a different regime from a police impound. If police ordered it, the $150 state fee and the 20-day hold apply instead. Which one you are in changes everything, including the price.
- 2 Find the car through the required sign or police
Under ARS 9-499.05, the lot must post a sign with the phone number and address where the vehicle can be found. The tower must also phone police within one hour of the tow (ARS 28-4836), so the police non-emergency line can trace it if the sign is missing.
- 3 Know the Phoenix caps
In Phoenix, City Code 36-6 caps the total tow at $105 for a car that reached storage and storage at $12 a day. Release demanded before the car leaves its spot is capped at $20; release demanded in transit at $40. Outside Phoenix, ask which city ordinance sets the rate.
- 4 Do not let them hold the car for the bill
Under City Code 36-6, the operator may not hold your vehicle as security for the charges or require security as a condition of release. They can ask for ID for billing. If they refuse to release a paid-up car, note it.
- 5 Check the signage
A compliant ARS 9-499.05 sign must state the parking restrictions, what happens to a vehicle in violation, the maximum cost including storage, and a phone and address to locate the car. If the lot had no clear sign at the entrance, that is a real basis to dispute the tow.
- 6 Get it moved once it is released
If the car will not start or is not safe to drive after release, we line up a tow or roadside operator who quotes before dispatch. Call (480) 526-9384.
What this looks like around Arcadia
Dense apartment corridors and event-district lots downtown and near Sky Harbor generate constant trespass tows. In Phoenix the caps are City Code 36-6: $105 total tow, $12 a day storage. Look for the required sign at the lot entrance; if there was no compliant sign, that is worth raising when you pay.
An Arcadia tow inside Phoenix city limits goes through the Phoenix system; note that some blocks near the Scottsdale line fall under Scottsdale, so confirm which jurisdiction the tow was in. Phoenix runs no single city impound lot, so a police-ordered hold under the state 20-day law (ARS 28-3511) sends the car to the assigned zone-contract yard rather than a municipal pound, and release paperwork starts at the Phoenix Police Vehicle Impound Unit, 100 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003, (602) 495-2096, open business hours Monday through Friday. The state administrative fee is 150 dollars, paid to Phoenix PD by cash, cashier's check or money order, and storage on that hold runs at the state cap of 25 dollars a day. Pay the fee, collect the release form, then take it to the assigned yard and pay the tow and storage there, because the yard cannot release the car without the police form. You can request a post-storage hearing within 10 days of the notice, held within 5 business days. A private-property tow off an apartment, HOA or shopping-center lot is a separate track: Phoenix City Code 36-6 caps the total tow charge at 105 dollars once the car reaches storage and storage at 12 dollars a day, and the lot must be posted with a sign giving the restriction, the maximum cost and a phone number and address where the car can be found.
Common Arcadia questions
How much can a tow company charge to get my car back in Arcadia?
In Phoenix, City Code 36-6 caps the total tow at $105 for a car that reached storage and storage at $12 a day. If you demand release before the car leaves its spot, that is capped at $20; in transit, $40. Outside Phoenix, the city where the lot sits sets its own maximum under ARS 9-499.05, so ask which ordinance the charge comes from.
Can they hold my car until I pay in Arcadia?
Under Phoenix City Code 36-6, the operator may not hold your vehicle as security for the charges or require security as a condition of release. They can ask for ID for billing. Once you pay the lawful charge, they must release the car.
The lot had no sign. Does that matter in Arcadia?
Yes. Under ARS 9-499.05, a lot is treated as open to public parking unless it is posted with clear signs at each entrance stating the restrictions, the maximum cost, and where to find the car. A missing or non-compliant sign is a real basis to dispute the tow.
What if the tower never told police in Arcadia?
Under ARS 28-4836, the tower must phone the police within one hour of the tow, and the agency enters it in the state database within three business days. A tower who fails to notify police forfeits all towing and storage charges and is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
Related help for Arcadia
Private-property tows in the rest of the Central Phoenix & Sky Harbor area
Need your car towed once it's released in Arcadia?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.