The head of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles has proposed the state simplify its system for allowing towing companies to sell vehicles, a move consumer advocates say ultimately wouldn’t do enough to protect vehicle owners.
Commissioner Tony Guerrera opened the third meeting of a towing reform working group by proposing what he called a compromise between towing companies and consumer advocates. Under his new system, companies wouldn’t assign values to the vehicles they tow and sell like they do now. Further, the sales process would begin for all vehicles after 30 days and private auctions would be prohibited.
Under current law, towing companies can begin the sales process for vehicles worth $1,500 or less after 15 days, then sell them in private auctions. For more valuable vehicles, the process begins after 45 days and the vehicles must be sold at public auction.
The 10-member working group, which Guerrera leads, was formed under a 2025 law that overhauled much of the state’s towing regulations and went into effect Oct. 1. Guerrera’s proposal would make significant changes to that law.
“I know everybody’s in a predicament,” Guerrera said. “The towers are there to provide a service, and they get compensated for that service. But at the same time, we need to be fair to the consumers and offer them every chance to get their car back.”
Guerrera said that if the vehicle isn’t purchased at public auction, the towing company should offer owners one more chance to get their cars back before selling them to a junkyard.
Towing charges in CT could go up 13.5%. Tow companies say it’s not enough
Attorney Raphael Podolsky, a consumer advocate on the committee, argued Guerrera’s proposal is “codifying aspects of the system that produced the problem that we’re trying to fix.”
The legislature overhauled the state’s century-old towing laws during the 2025 session following reporting from The Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica that found Connecticut allows tow truck companies to start the sales process in 15 days on cars valued under $1,500 — one of the shortest windows in the country. The stories showed how this and other laws favored towing companies at the expense of low-income residents.
Reporters with CT Mirror and ProPublica analyzed two years worth of forms submitted by tow companies and found that about 60% of the forms were submitted after the shorter, 15-day period. The news outlets also revealed that tow companies routinely undervalue vehicles compared to book values and that DMV’s oversight of the process is lacking.
At the October meeting of the working group, tow company owners clashed with consumer advocates. Owners argued they need to recoup the costs of towing and storing vehicles, while consumer advocates want to maximize the chances that people who want their vehicles back can retrieve them.
Guerrera’s compromise proposal aligns more closely with what tow companies have previously proposed, including the elimination of vehicle valuation.
Towers worried the proposal would add administrative fees to process cars that they say aren’t worth much. Consumer advocates questioned how people would learn about auctions if they are already having a hard time finding out who towed their cars.
“The cost and expenses now that we’re adding on to accommodate people that don’t pick up their car, is what the issue is,” said Sal Sena, owner of Sena Brothers and Cross Country Towing. Sena’s companies towed more vehicles than other company in 2022-2023, records show.
Sena said there are more than $250 worth of expenses associated with each car worth $400 to $500.
“We’re jumping through hoops because, again, we’re taking the liability of everybody else, because they’re not taking any of their own liability,” Sena said.
Committee member Eric Foster, an attorney who handles repossession and bankruptcy cases, called the public auctions “a bit of a charade because no one shows up.”
“We’re trying to come up with a mechanism that is efficient for the scrap cars, but is fair for those cars that are above that,” Foster said.
Podoksky also called out the auction process, which he said rarely produces bids and doesn’t generate fair value for some vehicles.
Under the current law, once a vehicle is sold, the towing company is supposed to subtract their fees and then hold the extra funds in escrow for a year. If the owner of the car doesn’t claim it, the money is supposed to revert to the state.
CT Mirror and ProPublica reporters found that the DMV has failed to monitor whether that was happening. Lawmakers charged the working group with studying this process but so far it hasn’t been discussed much.
“One of the issues that led to the bill was that there shouldn’t always be a zero surplus, but we’re now proposing to set up a system where there will almost be guaranteed to be a zero surplus,” Podolsky said.
State law mandates that the working group present recommendations to lawmakers by Feb. 1. Guerrera cautioned that the group might not like what happens if they don’t present a united report.
“If we’re not coming up with anything and then going back to the legislature, it just seems like we’re just throwing it back to them to come up with a decision that you guys might not like,” Guerrera said.
Dave Altimari and Ginny Monk are reporters for the Connecticut Mirror. Copyright 2025 @ CT Mirror (ctmirror.org).