Gunnison County Vehicle Impound Guide

Reaching into an impounded car in Gunnison County for anything beyond a short list of protected items triggers a $100-an-hour labor fee, on top of whatever's already owed for the tow itself. Only prescription medication, medical equipment, child car seats, a phone, ID, and the cash or card needed to pay the tow bill come out free. Reaching for a jacket, a laptop, or tools in the back seat starts the clock on that hourly rate, so anyone without the funds to pay the full bill should go in asking only for the protected items by name.

Before going anywhere near a tow yard, confirm there's no law enforcement hold on the vehicle. A hold gets placed after a collision, an injury, or anything suspicious found in the cabin, and while it's active, the tow company has no legal ability to release the car or let anyone near it, regardless of who's asking. Call the Gunnison Police Department Records Division (970-641-8200) or the Gunnison County Sheriff's Office (970-641-1113) to confirm which rotational tow operator has the vehicle and whether a hold applies before making the trip.

Which operator has the car depends on where the arrest happened. CB Towing & Recovery, in Crested Butte, handles the Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte, and Almont area and runs modified four-wheel-drive trucks built for backcountry and deep-snow recovery. Gunnison-area tows typically go through Gunnison Towing or H&H Towing, both dispatch-based rather than a fixed storefront. Calling ahead is the only way to know which one actually has the car.

Storage runs $48.19 a day for most vehicles, $59.45 for anything heavy-duty, on top of a $102.28-an-hour tow fee and a $150 statutory notification fee. An after-hours release, if the operator agrees to one, adds a $106.06 fee. Cash and major credit cards are both accepted, though a card surcharge is legally permitted under Colorado law.

If the driver wasn't the registered owner, or the owner can't get there, a notarized letter isn't enough on its own in Gunnison County. Colorado's Form DR2175, a notarized Power of Attorney for a Motor Vehicle specifically, is what's required to authorize someone else to retrieve the car.

Leaving the car unclaimed matters more than it might seem. Once a certified statutory notice goes out to the address on the title, the owner has 30 days to pay what's owed and retrieve the vehicle. After that, the towing company can take legal possession of it outright, and there's no requirement that they offer a payment plan to avoid it.