QuestionA car was given to my son in California. Only a bill of sale was provided, no title. The car was not driven, nor registered, by my son. The car was towed from a condo parking lot for cause. The car has a value of perhaps $600.He was out of town and only learned of the towing and storage after charges of $1,900 were assessed, which increases $70 per day. How is it determined who is responsible for the charges? Is there an upper limit the tow company can charge?
AnswerWOW Daily storage is $ 70.00 a day. That is really high to my thoughts at least...
California law was revised in January 2007 and rates where also covered.. In a nut shell the towing rates could not be more than what is charged for towing under police contracts rules for that area...
Now as to who is responsible for towing and storage charges the law makes it the responsibility of the "last registered" owner of the vehicle.. Now if they filed the required "release of liability" forms with DMV then it would move to the people who bought it...
Check out the various rules on the California DMV website and it will help answer some of the questions. I know its not a real big help in answering this question but there are so many different rules and regulations which do affect this, it is best if you check it out as you can answer specific questions which I do not have information here for.
************California DMV link **********
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm
