Tow lot question
 

My son was in a accident a month or so ago and totaled his 2000 jeep. It was towed to a lot somewhere in Chicago and there it sits. I asked my son about it and he said that they said it usually sits there till the insurance co has a chance to look at it. Now the other driver claims it was my sons fault and he said it was their fault. Someone ran a red light. Anyway neither insurance co is paying.

What I'm worried about is the lot charging daily for the car to sit their and finding out I have a big bill. The jeep is in my name. I really don't care if they keep the jeep, just wondering what my liablility is.

Tow lot bills are incredibly high. If you don't pay up they get a mechanics lien on the vehicle.

As long as I only have to worry about the vehicle, that is fine. I just don't want to find out later that I have to pay more than its worth. My son should have gotten more info but they told him not to worry about it. I thought it had been taken care of and its been two or three months now. The insurance companys are basically blowing him off as each claim it was the others fault and both only had liability insurance.

The jeep was probably only worth $3000 before he wreaked it so it's not the end of the world, but it was in my name and I don't want it to come back on me, or him.

Don't be surprised if they charge $100 (or more) PER DAY in storage fees.

HOLY CRAP! You guys need need to put a statewide cap on that. Ours is $25 maximum. Most places charge $20.

Very wise words. They will keep charging YOU (the owner) the funds and you are responsible. To get any of your sons personal items out of the car you will have to pay off to get them back, so someone needs to contact the insurance company soon... very soon.

Not unheard of.

I wouldn't be surprised if they try to charge you $9,000 for the storage, so far.

Even if there is a state-wide cap, these schisters will try to bilk whoever they can.

I hope it's not "Lincoln park Towing".

...as the old song goes "The Lincoln Park Pirates are all graduates of the Charm School in Joliet"...

Get it out of there now and tow it to a location of your choice (can even be your own place) if possible.

In theory insurance settlement vehicles are prohibited from being charged storage (at least here) but why give them the "posession is 90% of the law" right to your vehicle?

I don't think you can lose more than the Jeep. They'll hold a lien sale and take the proceeds from that in lieu of pursuing you for the storage fees.

Even if its $25 per day its probably past the salvage value. I don't care about the jeep. They know they have you over a barrel. It's not like you can move it very easy. And I understand that they have to make a living, but dont tell the kid not to worry about it and then stick it to him, or me, later.

They can charge me whatever they like, I would think that the salvage value of the jeep would more than pay for the tow and for sitting in their yard. I just don't want to have to pay more than that. I want to know what I'm liable for. I didn't sign or agree to anything, but Im sure my son probably signed whatever they put in front of him.

Most states make it illegal to prohibit you from going back to the car to get personal items left in it. You'll have to check. But Joe's advice is sound. Go back and get anything in the Jeep now and bug the insurer. Your collision coverage should pay for it even if the other side's insurer denies the claim. If you don't have collision the way to get your money back, including the tow and storage, is to go to small claims court and try to provethe other side ran the red light.

Not true. I have a friend of mine (who is also an occasional poster on this board) who had a motorcycle impounded for parking tickets. He said "screw it, let 'em keep it" (the tickets were worth more than the bike was) and eventually the city sued him for the cost of the tickets, fees and storage charges (which were substantial) minus the cost of the bike they got sold at auction (which was minimal).

Where money is involved, don't ever underestimate the resources or willingness of bureaucrats to figure out new and innovative ways to thieve it out of the working populace.

Just went through this with our Au Pair, who was hit by another car and totaled our car. The only difference was that no one contested the fact that the drive that hit our car was at fault, as outlined in the police report.

The other person's insurance company was Esurance...I called them every other day or so to make sure their adjusters were on the way and that I was not liable for any towing or storage charges. I was not.

Esurance had the car towed to a lot of their choice and settled up with the original tow lot folks in less than a week.

The were very slow, but they eventually paid a far price for the car, storage, my milage to DC to inspect the car and retrieve the plates and other personal items, as well as the one visit to the Doctor the I had our Au Pair make to ensure there was not injuries (there was not).

My recommendation would be to get a copy of the police report and bug the crap out of both your insurance company and the other persons company until all the details are known. If you had comprehensive, your insurance company should be all over this.

The car that was totaled was old enough so I only had liability on it, meaning I had to do most of the leg work.

Hope this helps and I am happy your son is unhurt.

Difference here is there is no government agency trying to collect their due, and having the authority to pursue it. I suppose the liability varies from state to state, let alone if a tow yard will go to the trouble beyond a lien sale. I suppose a call to a couple of different tow yards might be worthwhile. Also, I don't see a downside to calling some wrecking yards, selling it to one, and having them pick up the Jeep. They could pay the fees to the tow yard up to the amount they're paying for it, and dmcummins could make up the difference if necessary to prevent the liability from increasing.

I'm going to try and get in contact with them Friday. My son doesnt have the info with him. I am not trying to get out of paying, I just dont' want to get robbed. They never told my son what they charge. They implied that it could just sit their. I like the idea of trying to sell it to a wreaking yard and letting them pay the yard that amount. At least the charges would stop.

Anyone know some wreaking yard's in Chicago?

I sold my first car to Victory Auto Wreckers in Bensonville (near O'Hare).

My son went to the tow lot today with the title. They had already scrapped the jeep, didn't want the title. Said we were good.

Works for me!! One less thing to worry about.

Glad it turned out well. A family friend was in a horrific car crash that landed him in ICU in a coma for a month.

While he was there the scum at the tow yard stripped his car of all the valuables. They were selling the performance parts online and it set off a red flag. The car was very unique at the time, it was a WS6 Trans Am with a turbo on it. The turbo kit was custom built and showed up online for sale. One of the guys working in the yard pulled it off the car and was selling it.