Chaffee County Vehicle Impound Guide

Chaffee County runs two separate impound systems depending on where the arrest happens, and mixing them up costs real time. Get pulled over in Salida or anywhere south of town — Poncha Springs, the US 50 corridor — and your car goes to A-1 Auto Service at 445 West Rainbow Blvd. Get stopped in Buena Vista or on the northern stretch of US 24 or US 285, and it's Gunsmoke Towing & Recovery at 12916 US Hwy 24 instead. The two lots are 25 miles apart, and nothing on your paperwork tells you which one applies — you have to ask the arresting agency directly.

Timing matters more than the address. A-1 closes at 4:00 PM on weekdays and doesn't open at all on weekends, so a Friday-night arrest almost guarantees the car sits until Monday morning — three days of storage fees before you've even started the release process. Gunsmoke's business office keeps similar weekday hours but will do after-hours releases for a gate fee, roughly $75 to $105. Both yards also close for lunch, often around noon to 1:00 PM, and neither posts that anywhere obvious. Call before you drive out.

Before you go to either lot, find out if there's a police hold. Evidence concerns — open containers, drug paraphernalia — give the arresting agency the right to block release even after you show up with ID and cash. The tow yard has no authority to lift that hold; only the police department does. Call the Records Division of whichever agency made the arrest (Salida PD: 719-530-2600, Chaffee County Sheriff: 719-539-2596, Colorado State Patrol: dial *CSP) and ask point-blank whether a hold exists. If it does, you'll need to go in person, show ownership, pay an administrative release fee — typically around $150 — and get a signed release slip before the tow yard will touch the car.

Expect base tow costs in the $180 to $260 range depending on vehicle size, plus daily storage of roughly $40 to $60 and admin fees on top of that, often $75 to $150. Bring cash. Cards are accepted in theory, but rural card readers go down often enough that cash is the only payment method that reliably works on the first try.

If the registered owner is still in custody and can't pick the car up personally, a friend or family member needs a notarized letter of authorization — full legal name of the owner, the name of whoever's picking it up, the vehicle's make, model, plate, and VIN, signed and notarized. Fax or email it to the tow yard ahead of time so they can confirm it meets their format before anyone drives out. Showing up without it means driving back empty-handed.