Towing Cost in Shelby Township, MI
Who ordered the tow decides who sets the price. When you call us yourself, one total covering the truck, the distance, the work at the scene and the drop-off comes before any truck leaves.
Start with who ordered the tow: it decides who sets the fee
Michigan's Attorney General sorts tows into three kinds: those done at the direction of the police, of a private property owner, or of the vehicle's owner. Only the last is a price you agree to before the hook goes on. This page covers all three, beginning with 24-hour towing in Shelby Township that you book yourself.
You call us. Your car won't start in a lot off Hall Road. You phone, we price the whole job, and a truck leaves only after you say yes.
The police order it. After a crash, or when a car blocks traffic or sits in a posted tow-away zone, an officer can have it removed at the last titled owner's expense, at fees the Attorney General says are normally set by the agreement between the police agency and the towing company.
A property owner orders it. Under Michigan law, a car left on private property without the owner's consent counts as abandoned, and the owner can have a local towing agency take it once the required signs are up. Public land has rules too: the Metroparks warn that a vehicle left overnight without approval may be towed at the owner's expense.
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Michigan's rules for private-lot tows, police tows and storage
These rules sit in the section 252 series of the Michigan Vehicle Code.
Before a car leaves a private lot
Under MCL 257.252k, the owner or lessor of private property must post a notice before authorizing a tow without the vehicle owner's consent. The notice has to be:
- At every vehicle entrance, displayed prominently; property with no curbs or access barriers needs at least one notice for each 100 feet of road frontage.
- Lettered at least 2 inches high on a contrasting background, saying unauthorized vehicles will be towed away at the owner's expense.
- Clear about who tows, with the towing service's name and telephone number.
- Permanent and up a full day: its bottom edge at least 4 feet off the ground, in place for at least 24 hours before any car is towed.
Section 252l exempts land obviously part of a single- or dual-family home, a driver personally told the spot is reserved and the car is subject to towing, and police removals under section 252d. Under MCL 257.252a, the property owner calls a local towing agency, one with a storage lot within 15 miles of the local government's border, which must notify police before moving the car; within 24 hours police check whether it was reported stolen and log it in the state's law enforcement network as abandoned.
Skipped signs matter: under MCL 257.252f, the court hearing your challenge can order the lot owner to reimburse your towing and storage charges.
When police order the tow
MCL 257.252d lets a police agency have a car taken to safekeeping at the last titled owner's expense in listed situations, among them a car on the highway that is an immediate hazard or blocks traffic, a posted tow-away zone, an emergency such as fire, flood or snow, and a crashed car that can't be safely driven away.
Get to the car before it's towed and, in most of those cases, it must be disconnected and released to you on payment of a reasonable service fee, with a receipt. Not so for a car unsafe to drive on, a possibly stolen car, an evidence hold or an undrivable crashed car, and the last three also need a police release before the yard hands them back. Police log an impounded car within 24 hours; one not redeemed within 7 days is treated as abandoned.
Storage, the 20-day clock and the fees the law fixes
- The notice
- Within 7 days of learning a car was taken as abandoned, the Secretary of State notifies the owner and any secured lender, by first-class mail or personal service.
- 20 days
- The window, counted from the notice date, for filing a petition with the court named in it to contest the tow or the reasonableness of the towing and daily storage fees; fees set by a police or local-government contract that complies with section 252i are excluded.
- Getting the car back
- Without a hearing, the custodian is paid a $40 fee plus the accrued charges; with one requested, the owner posts a bond of $40 plus the accrued fees with the court (MCL 257.252a).
- Your belongings
- The first visit to inspect the car or take out personal property is free; each later visit can cost up to $25 (MCL 257.252a).
- Storage cap at disposal
- For a car released for disposition, storage is capped at the least of the contract daily rate, the yard's rate or $1,000 (MCL 257.252i), except for commercial vehicles and those owned by an entity rather than a person.
- The hearing
- Scheduled within 30 days. If the court finds police wrongly treated the car as abandoned, the police agency covers the accrued towing and storage charges.
Call the Shelby Township Police business line, (586) 731-2121, to learn whether police ordered or logged the tow; the department's Records Bureau is open Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed 1 to 2 p.m. For a state police tow, the Metro North Post, which covers Macomb and Oakland counties, is at 248-584-5740. The Secretary of State's abandoned-vehicle help desk is 517-636-5234.
What goes into our total when you book the tow yourself
When you're the customer, the job sets the number. We work through it on the call in this order.
Which truck
A two-wheel-drive car on sound tires can usually go on the wheel-lift, its drive wheels cradled and strapped. Cars that drive all four wheels or run on electric motors, lowered and vintage cars and motorcycles travel on the flatbed deck, held with tie-down straps and wheel nets, even across town. On any trip past the nearby towns, every car rides the deck.
How far
The road miles of the trip. Utica lies about 3 road miles from central Shelby Township and Romeo about 12, so a hop to a shop on Van Dyke and a run to a dealer two counties over are different jobs.
Time at the scene
A car on four good tires is loaded and strapped without fuss. One nosed into a snowbank or a ditch needs a winch-out before it can be loaded; a crash scene can mean waiting until police clear the car; a car with no key that's stuck in Park may need its shift-lock override worked. We ask about each on the call so it's in the total, not added later.
Where it's going
Your mechanic, a dealer or home. If the shop will be closed when the truck arrives, tell us how the drop-off should work.
Questions to put to any towing company before you agree
They apply to us and to anyone else you call.
- Is that the total? Ask for one figure for the whole job, not an hourly rate or a price that starts with 'from'.
- Which truck is coming? For an all-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive, electric or lowered car, the answer should be a flatbed.
- Does it cover the trip to the place I named? Confirm the destination, and that the miles to it are inside the figure.
- What would change it? A stuck car, a missing key or an unreleased crash scene takes longer; ask how a change is priced and agreed.
- Whose truck is it? The company that answers, the name on the truck and the name on the receipt should match.
- Is a tow needed at all? A cold no-start may only need a jump, a flat with a usable spare only the spare. Battery, tire, fuel and lockout help at the car is a separate, smaller job.
If someone else had your car towed
- Which yard has the car, when it's open, and its daily storage rate.
- What to bring: the Attorney General's guide says to bring your title or registration, since you may need to prove ownership.
- Whether police must release the car first, as they must after a crash that left it undrivable, a stolen-vehicle report or an evidence hold.
- Whether your insurance covers the towing costs; the Attorney General's towing guide suggests checking, and points to the Secretary of State's search for a towed car by VIN or plate.
How far your town is from central Shelby Township
Distance is one of the four parts of every total. Road miles from central Shelby Township, nearest first:
- Utica - about 3 miles
- Rochester, Washington Township, Macomb Township - about 6 miles apiece
- Rochester Hills - about 7 miles
- Sterling Heights - about 8 miles
- Troy - about 11 miles
- Oakland Township, Ray Township, Chesterfield Township, Romeo, Clinton Township - about 12 miles apiece
Past the nearby towns every car goes on the flatbed, so a longer trip is priced for the deck from the start. Going farther than this list? Ask; the extra miles go into the same single figure.
Booking ahead, like a no-start in your garage or a move to a shop next week? Send the details on our quote page and we call back with the number.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a tow cost in Shelby Township?
When you call Shelby Township Towing, the price is one total you hear before a truck leaves, covering the truck the job takes, the road miles, the work at the scene and where the car ends up. We don't publish a rate card because those vary so much. A tow ordered by police or a property owner is different; there, the Attorney General notes, the fee usually comes from the police agency's agreement with the towing company.
How much is a 15-mile tow?
It depends on the same four things as any tow, so we price it on the call, not from a per-mile chart. First, the truck: if the trip runs past the nearby towns, every car rides the flatbed, whatever drives it. Then come the time on scene, such as a winch-out first, and the drop-off. Give us both ends of the trip and you'll hear one total.
My car was towed from a private lot in Shelby Township. What can they charge?
Michigan law, MCL 257.252a, treats a car left on private property without consent as abandoned, and the Secretary of State sends a notice within 7 days of being told. Redeem it by paying the custodian $40 plus the accrued charges, or petition the court named in the notice within 20 days to contest the tow or, unless a qualifying contract set them, the fees. If the lot lacked the required signs, the court can make its owner reimburse you.
Can I get my things out of a towed car in Michigan?
Yes. For a car held as abandoned, which includes one towed off private property without consent, MCL 257.252a requires the custodian to let the owner inspect it and retrieve personal property during regular business hours. The first visit is free; after that, the custodian may charge no more than $25 per visit. Bring your title or registration, since you may need to prove the car is yours.
Is there a limit on storage fees for a towed car in Michigan?
Only in certain cases. When a car is released for disposition, MCL 257.252i caps the storage that can be collected at the least of the contract daily rate, the yard's own daily rate or $1,000, with commercial and business-owned vehicles excluded. Otherwise, an owner can ask the court named in the abandoned-vehicle notice to rule on whether the daily storage fees were reasonable, unless a qualifying contract set them.
Want a number? Have these four things ready
With them, we can give you one total before a truck leaves.
- Pickup point - mile road and cross road, the lot, or freeway, direction and last exit
- Drop-off point - the shop, dealer or address the car is headed to
- The car - year, make, model, and AWD, 4WD, electric, lowered or motorcycle
- Its state - whether it rolls, whether you have the key, whether it's stuck