Chatham County Vehicle Impound Guide
How to get your car back after a DUI arrest in Savannah and Chatham County, Georgia.
Impound Cost Calculator
Calculate how much it will cost to retrieve your vehicle from Sapp’s Wrecker Service in Chatham County, Georgia.
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The First 48 Hours Are Critical
After a DUI arrest in Chatham County, your vehicle is likely towed to an impound lot. Storage fees accumulate daily, making time your biggest enemy.
What Happens Immediately After Arrest
- 1
Vehicle is towed (usually within 30 minutes of arrest)
- 2
Tow company notifies impound lot (charges start immediately)
- 3
Storage fees begin accruing at $46.35/day in Chatham County
- 4
Administrative fees added ($87.55 in Chatham County)
Documents You Need to Retrieve Your Vehicle
- Valid photo ID (driver's license or state ID)
- Vehicle registration or title
- Proof of insurance
- Payment for all fees (see calculator above)
- Release authorization (if not the registered owner)
Can Someone Else Pick Up My Car?
Yes, but they'll need:
- Written authorization from the registered owner
- Copy of owner's ID
- Their own valid driver's license
- Proof of insurance in their name or the owner's name
How to Find Your Vehicle
Your vehicle may be at one of several impound lots in Chatham County depending on which agency arrested you:
Call Before You Go
Always call the impound lot first to verify your vehicle is there, confirm the exact amount owed, and check their hours of operation.
Impound Lot Details
Sapp’s Wrecker Service
Call Before You Go
Verify your vehicle is at this lot and confirm the exact amount owed before making the trip. Hours and fees may change without notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Chatham County Guides
Getting a car back after a Savannah DUI is a bureaucratic obstacle course, and the biggest obstacle is geography. The tow company legally cannot release the vehicle without a Vehicle Release Form, and only one place issues it: the Savannah Police Department Northwest Precinct at 602 East Lathrop Avenue. That office is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, reduced to 7 a.m. to noon on holidays.
The Chatham County jail is about six miles from that precinct. A defendant released at 8 p.m., after the precinct has closed, without a phone or wallet, cannot get the release form until 7 the next morning, which locks in an extra day of storage. And the precinct only accepts a valid photo ID plus the current vehicle registration or title as proof of ownership. An insurance card does not count. If the registration is sitting in the glovebox of the impounded car, the owner is stuck: no release form without the registration, no access to the car for the registration without the release form. The workaround is to pay a personal-property retrieval visit at the tow yard first, get the registration, then go to the precinct, then come back.
The default tow contractor when an arrestee has no preference is Sapp's Wrecker Service, headquartered at 176 Godley Road in Port Wentworth, dispatching 24/7. The fees are set by city contract and built to punish delay. The base tow is $257.50 for the first hour. Storage is $46.35 a day. There's a $128.75 after-hours release fee and another $128.75 to move the car from the secured lot to the pickup area. And an $87.55 administrative fee kicks in the moment the vehicle has been held 72 hours. A car towed late on a Friday, not retrieved until Monday night, can easily hit $600 or more to get back.
A vehicle left unclaimed for five weeks is transferred to a public auction house and listed on govdeals.com. Once that transfer happens, the owner has no way to get it back.
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