Car Impounding in Barcelona - What to do to recover your car

This page will explain exactly what you need to do if your car has been impounded. But first let's set the scene for the day your car disappeared without a trace...

You're in a hurry, you know you shouldn't park in that restricted area, but you're late for an appointment, "besides", you reassure yourself, " I'll only be a few minutes". You lock your car, you hesitate for just a moment, give your car a little tap, " I'll be back soon, don't worry" and then you're off to your appointment.

Fifteen minutes later your return to find that your car has gone! "No, I can't believe it" you scream, "someone has stolen my car"! You walk over to the open space where your car once was only to find a curious yellow triangle on the road. Suddenly you realise what has happened. Your car hasn't been stolen it's been towed away by the friendly Barcelona car impound service.

This was the experience of one of my friends recently and this page will explain exactly what to do when you are faced with that wide open space on the road where your car was naughtily parked.

The first thing you will notice is that there is a yellow plastic triangle on the road where your car was parked. On this triangle will be a telephone number which you need to dial to find which impounding station your car has been towed off to.

When you call the help line you will find the impound service have operators that can take your call in 4 different languages: English, French, Catalan and Spanish. If you speak a different language other than these you can send your enquiry via email and someone will respond.

Once you make your call the attendant will tell you which impound station your car has been hauled off to. They will also tell you the fine you will have to pay to have your car recovered. At the time of writing the fine is 175 euros. Ouch, suddenly making that late appointment has become quite expensive. They will give you exact instructions on what you need to do to recover your vehicle.

Next you will need to take along your identification with you - passport or identity card along with the vehicle registration documents that prove you are the owner of the vehicle.

If you can't prove that you own the car by producing the vehicle registration documents you could be in trouble. The car impound will not release your car until you can prove ownership. If it is a hire car you will need the car rental paperwork. If you work for a business you could have the business fax through the registration documents to the impound office if you do not have the ownership papers with you.

Once you have the correct identification and paperwork you need to make sure you have the means to pay the fine. This would be either via cash or credit card. You then make your way to the designated impound office and reclaim your car. You will also have a sticker stuck across your windscreen that can be very difficult to remove so perhaps bring along a scraper to help remove it.

Now you're back in your car on your way home relieved that at least your car had not been stolen. "I will never again park in a restricted area in Barcelona city centre" you say to yourself. And with good reason because now you know around every dark corner near restricted parking zones is a stealthy but efficient car impound serviceman just waiting for his next victim.

Related Pages

Car Parking in Barcelona
Car parking at Barcelona Airport
Coach Parking in Barcelona
Car Impounding in Barcelona - what to do if your car is impounded
Cheap long term car parking in Barcelona

Car Safety in Barcelona - Real life stories of car crime and what you can do to prevent it.

Car Hire at Barcelona Airport
Car Hire at Girona Airport
Barcelona Transport system

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