The cost to get your car out of impound in Philadelphia is PPA’s published math, not a brand price. For a vehicle under 11,000 pounds, a boot is $150. A tow is $175, and that $175 applies only once the 72-hour boot-to-tow clock has run. Storage is $25 per 24 hours plus 22.5% tax. Suburbs do not use this schedule. Neither do we.
Work the PPA bill end to end
Start with why the car moved. A boot, a parking tow, and a live-stop tow are different lines on philapark.org/tow.
If the car was booted and you catch it in time, you pay the unpaid tickets plus the $150 boot fee. The $175 tow is not in that bill yet. After the boot is on, you have 72 hours to pay before a tow. The $175 tow fee applies only once those 72 hours have run.
A straight tow of a vehicle under 11,000 pounds is $175. A live stop on that same band is $225. Storage then starts: $25.00 per 24 hours plus 22.5% tax on that under-11,000 band.
Work a simple passenger-car example. Boot $150 if a boot was on. Tow $175 if the 72 hours ran. Two storage days at $25 is $50, plus 22.5% tax on that storage, which is $11.25, for $61.25 in storage. Add the ticket balance PPA already attached. That total is PPA’s, not ours.
Heavier bands exist on the same PPA page. Tow 11,000-17,000 pounds is $250 straight or $300 live stop, with storage at $40.00 per 24 hours plus 22.5% tax. Over 17,000 pounds the tow is $360 or $410, with storage at $75.00 per 24 hours plus 22.5% tax. Lead with the under-11,000 figures. Most cars sit in that band.
Find the car before you budget the trip
A missing car in Center City, University City, or a commercial corridor has often been booted, towed, or relocated. Check findmytowedcar.org or call 888-591-3636 before you report it stolen. Snow-emergency tows use (215) 686-SNOW.
Published PPA lots with phones:
- Lot 1, 2501 Weccacoe Ave, (215) 683-9550
- Lot 6, 4701 Bath Street, (215) 683-9510
- Lot 10, 6 E. Oregon Avenue, (215) 683-9601
PPA uses more lots than these three. Confirm the lot on the lookup. Don’t treat this as a complete list.
Ask the lot the current balance before you travel. Storage grows every 24 hours. A published list of PPA payment methods could not be confirmed for this page. Ask the window what it takes.
Bring photo ID and proof of ownership. Then ask the lot what else it requires. A full PPA document checklist couldn’t be confirmed for this page.
Suburbs are not this schedule
Upper Darby, Chester, King of Prussia, Norristown, Bensalem, and West Chester run their own lots. Those towns do not bill the PPA $175 / $25 schedule. Title 75 §3352 lets a municipality set rates. If it has set none, storage is capped at $25 a day. Ask that township for its own figure.
A private-property tow is a third bill. Inside Philadelphia it runs under Philadelphia Code 9-605 and 73 P.S. §1971. A passenger-vehicle private-property cap could not be confirmed. The confirmed heavy-vehicle cap is $360 plus $75 per 24 hours for 17,000 pounds and up.
Quick Tow Philadelphia is a referral service. We do not set PPA fees and we do not run a lot. If the released car cannot be driven, we line up an operator and quote before dispatch. Call (610) 557-1544 or use /contact/. See emergency towing when you need that haul.
The boot rule that feeds many of these bills is covered in the 3-ticket rule. Leaving the car to sit is covered in what happens if you don’t pick it up.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a PPA tow for a regular car?
For a vehicle under 11,000 pounds, PPA publishes $175 for a straight tow and $225 for a live stop. The $175 applies only once the 72-hour boot-to-tow clock has run.
Is storage really $25 a day?
For a vehicle under 11,000 pounds, PPA publishes $25.00 per 24 hours plus 22.5% tax. Heavier bands are $40 or $75 per 24 hours plus the same tax. Confirm the band with the lot.
Does this price apply in Upper Darby?
No. The PPA schedule is a city figure. Suburban municipalities set their own impound fees. Ask that township. Section 3352’s $25 a day cap applies only if it has set no rate.
Can I get a cheaper rate through Quick Tow Philadelphia?
No. We cannot waive PPA or township charges. Our own road-call price is quoted before dispatch on a separate job, after the car is released.
When to call us
Call once the lot has released the car and you need it moved. We cannot argue a PPA bill or pull a car out of a pound. The line takes calls 24/7. Calls are recorded after a notice. Call the line at (610) 557-1544, or write through /contact/.