What happens if you don’t pay impound in Charlestown
If your car has been sitting unpaid at a lot near Charlestown, here is what actually happens next.
What Massachusetts law says
An unpaid impound does not sit still. Storage accrues every day, and eventually the vehicle can be sold to satisfy the bill while you still owe it. A company that stores a vehicle in Massachusetts has a garage keeper's lien under M.G.L. c. 255 s. 39A, and after an accident tow it must give the owner 21 days to respond to its notice before moving to sell. Inside Boston the daily rate is published at $3 an hour up to $15 a day; a town impound is capped by the state at up to $35 per 24 hours. Either way the meter runs, so the only reliable move is to call the lot early and get the running total.
Charlestown sits outside Massachusetts, so a different state's impound and towing rules apply here instead of the Massachusetts law above. Call the line and the operator who takes the job can walk you through what's different for your vehicle.
How it works in Charlestown
- 1 Understand what the clock is for
Storage is what grows daily. A car can be collected the same day if there is no police hold and you can pay, so the clock is about cost, not permission.
- 2 Get the running total early
Ask for the tow charge and the daily storage rate separately, and ask what today's total is. Inside Boston that is $90 to tow and $3 an hour up to $15 a day.
- 3 Know the garage keeper timeline
After an accident tow a garage keeper must give the owner 21 days to respond to its notice under M.G.L. c. 255 s. 39A before moving to sell the vehicle.
- 4 Watch the abandonment line
A vehicle left over 72 hours without permission can be treated as abandoned under M.G.L. c. 90 s. 22C, which is another reason the early call matters.
- 5 Know that losing the car does not clear the debt
If the vehicle is sold to satisfy the bill, you can still owe any remaining charges. Losing the car is not the same as clearing the balance.
- 6 Decide whether the car is worth saving
Compare the running total against what the car is actually worth. If it is not worth it, a junk-car pickup with a cash offer can be a cleaner ending, and Massachusetts junking paperwork is final.
What this looks like around Charlestown
Inside Boston, around South Boston, East Boston and Charlestown, storage runs $3 an hour up to $15 a day at the City of Boston lot. Over even a week that is real money before the $90 tow, so call 617-635-3900 early. A car left unclaimed can be treated as abandoned under M.G.L. c. 90 s. 22C.
A Charlestown tow inside the city goes to the City of Boston lot at 200 Frontage Road. Look it up at cityofboston.gov/towing/search, entering three characters of the plate, which covers the past 15 days, or call 617-635-3900, and 617-343-4629 if you do not know your plate. The city fee is $90 to tow and $3 per hour of storage up to $15 per day. To release it you need a valid driver's license, your license plate number, proof of active registration and proof of insurance, and the city takes cash, a money order, a cashier's check or a debit or credit card with a 2.5% fee on cards. The lot is staffed Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 10:30 PM, with automated kiosks around the clock. A street-cleaning tow is different: a private company holds the car at its own lot and charges $108 plus $35 per day, so confirm which kind of tow it was. TD Garden event nights and street cleaning both add tow-zone enforcement here, so check whether it was a city tow or a private street-cleaning tow.
Charlestown sits at a knot of bridges. The Zakim Bridge carries I-93 out of downtown right past it, and the Tobin Bridge approach for Route 1 runs through it, so a breakdown on either backs up the traffic feeding the whole north side of the city. TD Garden overspill parking pushes into the neighborhood on event nights. The streets themselves are narrow colonial blocks with tight permit parking and almost no room to spare, and Main Street was raised in spots to fight flooding. That mix keeps lockouts, dead batteries and residential tows steady between the bridge calls. A city tow goes to the lot at 200 Frontage Road, released at $90 with $3 an hour up to $15 a day. The operator we send covers the bridge approaches and the narrow neighborhood streets both.
Common Charlestown questions
How long before an unpaid tow becomes a real problem in Charlestown?
Immediately, because storage accrues daily: $3 an hour up to $15 a day at the City of Boston lot, or up to $35 per 24 hours at a town impound under the state ceiling. The cost problem starts on day one.
How much will I owe if I wait to pay in Charlestown?
Inside Boston, the tow is $90 and storage is $3 an hour up to $15 a day, so multiply the days by the daily cap and add the tow. A separate town impound sets its own figures under the state ceiling of up to $35 per 24 hours.
Can they sell my car over an unpaid bill in Charlestown?
A company that stores a vehicle has a garage keeper's lien under M.G.L. c. 255 s. 39A, and after an accident tow must give the owner 21 days to respond to its notice before selling. If the car is sold, you can still owe any remaining balance.
Does Quick Tow Boston handle lien sales in Charlestown?
No. We are not the lot holding your vehicle and have no part in its disposal. We can help you work out who has it, what the balance is likely to be, and whether a junk-car pickup makes more sense than paying it out. Call (857) 858-5057.
Related help for Charlestown
Unpaid impound & disposal in the rest of the Boston Waterfront area
Need your car towed once it's released in Charlestown?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.