Abbeville County Vehicle Impound Guide

Both authorized impound lots in Abbeville County, A-1 Tire of Abbeville on Highway 72 West and Abbeville Tire on East Greenwood Street, close completely on weekends. Since most DUI arrests happen Friday night into early Saturday morning, a vehicle towed at 1 a.m. Saturday sits untouched until the lot reopens Monday morning, a 55-hour blackout with daily storage fees accruing the entire time. That alone guarantees a minimum bill of around $413, the $272 flat tow fee plus three days of storage, before either lot even unlocks its doors for the week. Having the full amount ready in cash and being physically at the gate right at opening on Monday avoids letting a fourth day of storage tack on.

Standard 2026 rate caps for a typical passenger vehicle run $272 for the tow itself and $47 a day in storage. A collision requiring winching, uprighting, or extra equipment shifts to an hourly special-operations rate of $162, but only with confirmation from the trooper or a supervisor on scene that it was actually necessary.

A genuine paradox trips up plenty of defendants at release time: if the arrested driver is the vehicle's sole registered owner, their physical license was almost certainly confiscated under implied consent, and the lot won't let them drive the car away themselves even though they legally own it. The fix is bringing a second, fully licensed and insured driver to physically pilot the vehicle off the property, while the registered owner still has to be present in person with a government photo ID like a passport or state ID card to sign the release paperwork and pay.

A DUI arrest tied to a serious crash, one involving significant property damage, injury, or death, can trigger an investigative hold placed by the Sheriff's Office or the Highway Patrol's accident investigation team. Once that hold is active, nothing gets the vehicle released, not even paying every fee in full, until the investigating agency formally clears it, a process that can stretch on for weeks.