Your car was towed from private property in Scottsdale
If your car was towed from a lot, apartment, or HOA in Scottsdale, 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 Scottsdale
- 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 Scottsdale
Old Town garages, resort lots, and HOA enforcement in Scottsdale produce trespass tows on busy nights. Scottsdale sets its own maximum private-property rate under ARS 9-499.05. The tower must still phone police within one hour of the tow (ARS 28-4836), so the car can be traced.
Scottsdale is worth a specific note. On a police-ordered 20-day hold under ARS 28-3511 the city charges the 150-dollar state administrative fee plus a 150-dollar after-hours fee, with storage at 53.50 dollars a day, or 25 dollars a day if you request an early hearing, and a 65-dollar tow charge; hearings are held at the McKellips Station, 7601 E. McKellips Rd. A private-property tow off a lot is a separate matter, with no statewide dollar cap and a required compliant sign giving the restriction, the maximum cost and a number and address where the car can be found. Call the department that ordered the tow for the assigned yard.
Scottsdale holds 241,361 residents and is affluent, older and about 9 percent Hispanic, so the market is firmly English-first. The towing work splits along the city's own geography. Old Town drives nightlife, DUI and event tows, WestWorld and Barrett-Jackson bring huge event crowds, and Scottsdale Fashion Square adds garage and lot volume. Loop 101, the Pima, carries the freeway load with SR 51 nearby, and Scottsdale Road, Shea, Pima and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard run the arterial grid. Maricopa County logged 88,094 crashes in 2024, and the Loop 101 corridor takes a steady share. Scottsdale runs a luxury and exotic fleet, so a large part of the work is roadside and insurance referrals on high-value vehicles that owners want moved on a flatbed with care. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve and Pinnacle Peak bring trailhead-lot recovery, and tourist rentals overheat in summer, when the metro saw 55 days at or above 110 degrees in 2023. Scottsdale is worth a specific note on impound: the city charges the 150-dollar state administrative fee plus a 150-dollar after-hours fee, with storage that runs higher than the state cap unless an early hearing is requested, and hearings are held at the McKellips station. The pros we send cover Old Town, the Loop 101 corridor, the Preserve trailheads and the resort district.
Common Scottsdale questions
How much can a tow company charge to get my car back in Scottsdale?
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 Scottsdale?
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 Scottsdale?
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 Scottsdale?
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 Scottsdale
Private-property tows in the rest of the Scottsdale & the Northeast area
Need your car towed once it's released in Scottsdale?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.