SFMTA Impound is the city's vehicle impound lot. The experience of having a car towed is universally described as bad, expensive, and frustrating. Fees are grievously high, often totaling over $600 or $750, and include administrative, towing, storage, and citation costs. The process, however, is frequently reported as efficient, with many customers retrieving their cars within 5 to 15 minutes. Staff are consistently described as pleasant, helpful, courteous, respectful, and amazing, often making a sucky situation better. They are just doing their job. The process is easy to follow and they accept all forms of payment. A key policy is that they will only release the car to the registered owner with ID. While some customers have questions or complaints about the initial towing, the service at the impound lot itself receives positive remarks for its efficiency and polite staff.
