The cities of Reno and Sparks spend tens of thousands of dollars each year to tow and dispose of abandoned vehicles. Public records obtained by This Is Reno show the City of Reno spent in 2023 about $75,000 to tow cars and trucks and another $16,000 to take care of RVs, or recreational vehicles, that had been abandoned. Sparks has $30,000 in its budget each year to deal with abandoned vehicles.

“We pay tow companies approximately $1,500 per vehicle to tow them,” said City of Sparks spokesperson Julie Duewel. “That is tax dollars. The $1500 is the average cost per vehicle. RVs are usually about that much, and other vehicles can be less. It varies from vehicle to vehicle.” 

Duewel said tow companies have a limited ability to recoup costs for services for RVs versus passenger vehicles.

“This … process is due to the limited abilities of tow companies to recoup costs for services as they do with passenger vehicles they tow,” she explained. “They also consume a lot of storage space and have fluids such as freon in fridges and wastewater that require extra attention prior to destruction.”

Reno’s figures have fluctuated from 2019 through 2023. In 2020, the city spent nearly $100,000 to tow vehicles, but during the pandemic, those numbers dropped until 2023, which then saw a $90,000 cost to the city to tow vehicles. Nearly $16,000 of that was to move RVs. 

The number of vehicles towed in Reno has remained relatively consistent between 2021 and 2023, with about 750 vehicles towed by parking enforcement each year, according to city records. Sparks, comparatively, tows about 10 vehicles a year, Duewel said.

Reno officials said it also costs the city about $1,500 to tow an RV.

“Reno Parking Enforcement Officers tag and ticket abandoned vehicles, but the process of towing and removing abandoned vehicles can be expensive to the taxpayer,” Reno spokesperson Landon Miller said. “On average, an RV costs the City of Reno about $1,500 per tow, which includes disposal when necessary and all the trash inside it.” 

Citizens make the call

The local jurisdictions rely on citizens to report abandoned vehicles, and many are irate. The City of Reno maintains logs of calls to Reno Direct. Many complaints are about business vehicles parked in residential areas or abandoned vehicles that sometimes take m, and they sometimes make multiple complaints before vehicles are towed.

“There is a utility business trailer parked on the corner of Sage Sparrow Circle & Sage Ridge Dr. It has been there and not moved since 3/20/23,” one report reads. “We have contacted the HOA weekly with no resolve & left a note on the trailer with [a] copy of HOA guidelines not allowing street parking at all for utility or RV vehicles, the note was removed by someone.”

Many making complaints say vehicles are being repeatedly moved to avoid being cited or towed.

“I have been a 20-year resident of Herons Landing,” one resident complained. “I am requesting … that you remove the beige/brown RV parked on the north side of Mira Loma, east of McCarren, past Mira Loma Park, that has been parked in the same spot since October 2022. This is the THIRD request made for this RV in over two years as it just keeps moving from one side of Mira Loma to the other, and the City of Reno does NOTHING about this.”

Many vehicles are simply abandoned.

“[This is the third time] I have reported this,” a complainant wrote to the city. “Abandoned truck, 5th wheel trailer and car on Old Virginia near South Meadows right behind Sprads RV. They have been there for several months and are slowly being parted out. There is also an abandoned motorhome 100 yards down the road from there. Why is the City letting this happen? The vehicle was tagged months ago, so someone has noticed. How do we get it removed?”

Reno Direct uses senior volunteers and its parking enforcement staff to follow up on complaints and mark vehicles for towing. Reno Police’s SAVE volunteers, who would not allow This Is Reno to go on a ride-along, reported more than 600 calls for abandoned vehicles in just November of last year, up from 441 in November of 2022.

“In many cases, residents will remove their vehicles after being tagged by Parking Enforcement or Reno Police SAVE Volunteers,” Reno’s Miller said. “That’s why we encourage residents to report them.”

Where to report abandoned vehicles

Reno Direct: 775-334-4636 or https://service.reno.gov/reno 

“This site easily allows residents to report illegally parked or abandoned vehicles, and also provides a real-time map of similar requests for service,” Miller said. “The City asks residents to be extremely precise in location as it will help facilitate the process.”

Sparks code enforcement: 775-353-4063

https://www.cityofsparks.us/explore_sparks/new_residents/report_an_issue.php