Car was towed

[Virage64]

Well it looks like my car was towed in the middle of the night. The car was sitting outside of my house for awhile without any plates. The car does not start and I have bought a new car since.
My old plates were transferred to the new car, same as my insurance. Am I still liable for the tow and storage fees? The only way I can see them tracking me down is through the VIN number. What would be the best way to go about this? The car does not run and was to be towed to scrap eventually anyways.

[Kloubek]

I am not certain, but I think you can basically just "donate it". Not much they can do, as far as I know.

[ercchry]

get it out ASAP, you are the last person that registered it, they know this... impound fees are steep. good luck registering your new car at renewal if you dont pay this bill

[quick_scar]

As it has been said above, get it out as soon as you can. Yes the VIN is tied to you, Yes they will come after you for the fees. Most likely you have not only the tow and soon to be storage fees to deal with, but I am sure there will be a few parking tickets as well.

There are 2 vehicles like yours in my neighborhood. Every day as I drive by I think to myself "nope, not yet" but I know it is just a matter of time before they are hauled away.


Are you not aware that it is illegal to park a vehicle on public property if it is not insured and registered?

[dirtsniffer]

You should have gotten rid of it instead of being a shmuck. I hope you get held responsible for any fees and fines.

[Tik-Tok]

All it would have taken is a 5 minutes phone call to a charity, or scrap metal remover before it got towed. Now you're going to have to pay over $100 to get it out, lol.

Oh, and it's $28 a day for every day it's in there, and yes, you will be billed for it as you were the last registered owner.

[Kloubek]

Well I guess I stand corrected.

Note to self: Keep mouth shut unless you know what you're talking about.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by Virage64
Well it looks like my car was towed in the middle of the night. The car was sitting outside of my house for awhile without any plates. The car does not start and I have bought a new car since.
My old plates were transferred to the new car, same as my insurance. Am I still liable for the tow and storage fees? The only way I can see them tracking me down is through the VIN number. What would be the best way to go about this? The car does not run and was to be towed to scrap eventually anyways.

Normally, I am sympathetic, but dude, come on. This was your responsibility to deal with, not waiting for someone else to clean up after you. Next time, deal with your shit before someone else if forced to. I hope this is an expensive lesson for you to learn.

I will get off my high horse now.

[quick_scar]

"When unclaimed vehicles are disposed of and the proceeds
of disposal do not cover costs, a claim is made to Alberta
Justice. Alberta Justice may pursue recovery of these claim
amounts from the last registered owner of the vehicle."

https://www.calgaryparking.com/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=85944&folderId=139080&name=DLFE-6001.pdf

See above reference. Basically they auction it off, if the proceeds from the auction do not cover the costs, then Alberta Justice gets involved.

[bjstare]

Originally posted by dirtsniffer
You should have gotten rid of it instead of being a shmuck. I hope you get held responsible for any fees and fines.

[Virage64]

I was attempting to sell the vehicle before resorting to donating the car, but I guess I was too late. I thought there would have been some warning before the car got towed, but I guess this will be an expensive lesson to learn.

[ekguy]

Originally posted by ercchry
get it out ASAP, you are the last person that registered it, they know this... impound fees are steep. good luck registering your new car at renewal if you dont pay this bill

this. left my legend at my sister's while i figured out what was wrong with it and the neighbors had it towed. I didn't find out till a couple days before the city had it crushed and i got dinged with a pretty hefty bill...

[btimbit]

Lesson learned, never transfer registration or cancel insurance until the car is gone. Even when I intend to keep one on my driveway until it's sold I keep everything in order, you never know when you might have to move it.

A few years ago I had a friend with an old car that wasn't registered or insured in his garage. We were going to replace the garage door and had to move it out so pushed it into the alley, then went out to grab lunch. Gone when we got back.





Bit of a side question here since OPs has been answered, but I've always wondered how do you know if your cars been towed or if it was stolen? Do they leave any sort of notice or do you only figure it out after you freak out and go to report it to the police? Never had either happen to me luckily.

[quick_scar]

Originally posted by btimbit
Bit of a side question here since OPs has been answered, but I've always wondered how do you know if your cars been towed or if it was stolen? Do they leave any sort of notice or do you only figure it out after you freak out and go to report it to the police?

When you call it into the cops, they will tell you it was towed, or you can call the parking authority and they will verify if it is on their lot or not (and what lot it is on).

[BokCh0y]

Just a question...

if it's sitting on your driveway with no plates, it's fine right? But if it's sitting on the street with no plates...then that isn't fine right?

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by BokCh0y
Just a question...

if it's sitting on your driveway with no plates, it's fine right? But if it's sitting on the street with no plates...then that isn't fine right?

Your driveway is private property

[lilmira]

Originally posted by btimbit

Bit of a side question here since OPs has been answered, but I've always wondered how do you know if your cars been towed or if it was stolen? Do they leave any sort of notice or do you only figure it out after you freak out and go to report it to the police? Never had either happen to me luckily.

http://www.calgaryparking.com/web/guest/impoundlot/vehiclesearch

[BokCh0y]

Originally posted by G-ZUS


Your driveway is private property

Thought so, thanks.

[snowcat]

Originally posted by dirtsniffer
You should have gotten rid of it instead of being a shmuck. I hope you get held responsible for any fees and fines.

Agreed.

[bjstare]

Originally posted by G-ZUS


Your driveway is private property

I'm fairly sure that even though the vehicle is in a driveway it still needs to be registered and/or insured.

Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong (by actually citing a bylaw, not just telling me I'm wrong).

I would be inclined to err on the safe side, personally. Even if this means backing it into the driveway or putting a cover over it, so it's not obvious that it isn't registered.

[speedog]

In Edmonton, apparently you're not to have "damaged, dismantled or derelict vehicles or motor vehicles, whether insured or registered or not;" parked on your private property (Edmonton Community Standards by-law. So does Calgary have similar by-laws?

[speedog]

From a Calgary Parking Authority document...

"City bylaws restrict the storage of vehicles in backyards for
the same reasons that derelict vehicles are not permitted to be
stored on public streets and alleys. To enjoy your hobby without
compromising the rights and safety of your neighbours, limit the
number of vehicles you are working on to the amount of room
you have in your garage.

If your garage does not provide sufficient space, you may wish
to consider a storage site on private property outside residential
areas. Many industrial areas of the city offer additional storage
space that can be leased for a nominal fee."

So that tells me that if your unregistered vehicle is not out of sight, then it's at risk of being removed if someone makes a complaint. Now the above doesn't speak to front driveways but I suspect the same would be applied.

[bignerd]

Sounds like the bylaw is meant to apply more to POS cars that people use for parts or that are damaged etc AKA eyesore that neighbors can see.

One of my neighbors currently has their smashed up car in their drive with a tarp over the damaged front end. I personally don't care but suppose others could think this looks bad and makes the neighborhood look bad so could complain.


I think most newer cars or those in well kept condition would be fine, as long as you don't have ten stored in your back yard or drive way...

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by speedog
In Edmonton, apparently you're not to have "damaged, dismantled or derelict vehicles or motor vehicles, whether insured or registered or not;" parked on your private property (Edmonton Community Standards by-law. So does Calgary have similar by-laws?

Haha last time I lived there this would describe half the yards in the city.

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by bignerd
as long as you don't have ten stored in your back yard or drive way...


:cry: Good thing my neighbors like me.....got more than 10 on my residential lot! :eek:

[Black Gts]

I had this happen once, had a car sitting for months with snow covering the plate. I eventually tried to startit and coul dn'tboost it. I came tthe next day, with a new battery and the car was gone. I have never gotten billed for it, hopefully it's not still at the impound, I'd have to claim bankruptcy because this was over 10 years ago lol.

[quick_scar]

Originally posted by Black Gts
I had this happen once, had a car sitting for months with snow covering the plate. I eventually tried to startit and coul dn'tboost it. I came tthe next day, with a new battery and the car was gone. I have never gotten billed for it, hopefully it's not still at the impound, I'd have to claim bankruptcy because this was over 10 years ago lol.

Sounds to me like they were either able to cover the costs with what they auctioned it for, or the government decided it was such a small difference, it was not worth coming after you for it.

[Black Gts]

That's what I assume happened as well, I don't see how the car was worth more than 300 bucks though. I'm not saying it's ok to be a lazy bastard, but Iddon't think the fines could be that big. I personally however will not be trying again,