What to Do If Your Car Is Towed in Miami
Depending on where you are in Miami, getting your car towed can be a little confusing. The City of Miami has contracts with eight different towing companies that break the city up into five sectors. Outside the city, the towing is often done by Miami-Dade County, and the fees are usually paid to the county or the towing companies. Miami Beach has its own pair of contracted towing companies, and its own parking hotline at 305-604-4785.
With all that variation, it’s important to find out where your car was when it was towed when you start tracking it down.
Contact Your Local Police Station
When your vehicle is towed, the towing company has 30 minutes to report the tow to the Miami-Dade Police Department. In order to track down your vehicle, you should call your local police station. Here’s a list of the phone numbers for the Miami Police stations.
- Miami Police Headquarters – (305) 603-6640
- Miami Police North Station – (305) 795-2300
- Miami Police South Station – (305) 643-7160
- Miami Police Grapeland Heights Substation – (305) 603-6500
The police station will tell you where your car is, and what you need to get it back.
Set Towing Rates
Miami-Dade County has a whole list of set maximum non-consent tow rates. The full list can be found here. Below is a list of the most common tow rates that you’ll run into:
- Class A Tow – $101
- Class B Tow – $165
- Class C Tow – $235
- Class D Tow – $300
- Daily Outdoor Storage (after first 6 hours, then every 24 hours) – $20
- Notification – $30
Under Miami-Dade law, the towing company will have to accept two forms of payment from the list of cash, credit card, or personal check.
Predatory Towing Measures
Miami is actually well known for being home to predatory towing companies, and both the city and the county have taken measures to put a stop to these. One of these is towing orders. In order for a car to be towed, the company must have a towing order with a signature, date, and time. When you go to pick up your car, you can ask to see the towing order.
Another measure is access control. If you contact a towing company after business hours, they legally have to be there within an hour to release your vehicle, keeping them from adding unnecessary storage fees.
If you feel like your vehicle was towed improperly, then you can contact the Miami-Dade County Consumer Mediation Center at 786-469-2333 or consumer@miamidade.gov.