Your vehicle is stuck, broken or impounded

Choose the route by vehicle state

Situation → action decision table

Official Every route below comes from the official driving/My Garage update notes (0.8.10.420 era):

Avoiding impound

The official transport update identifies two safe categories for leaving a vehicle:

• Your ranch.
• One of the 17 designated Overnight Parking locations.

Ordinary roadside space is not automatically overnight-safe. When testing a location, look for the designated parking context instead of assuming any open bay is valid. If a vehicle disappears after being left overnight, check impound before treating it as a save loss.

Official "Inside your gates" is the operative rule for the ranch option. In a Steam discussion (August 5, 2026), moderator Jennoula confirmed: "Vehicles have to be parked inside your gates not out on city property." Parking on municipal ground or just outside your gate still counts as unauthorized and the vehicle can be towed.

Stolen vehicle rules

Ownership and license status change the recovery outcome:

Because permanent seizure exists, do not test parking rules with a vehicle you cannot afford to lose.

Fixed in 0.8.10.562 · Official The August 11, 2026 hotfix fixed vehicles becoming non-interactive when parked directly in front of the AutoHue garage entrance — relevant if your "stuck" vehicle was sitting at the paint shop door. Update first before treating it as a recovery case.

If My Garage does not show the vehicle

Record whether it was purchased or stolen, whether the plate was changed, the last parking location, the game build and whether a day transition occurred. Those facts are more useful than repeatedly reloading. Submit a report only after checking the Car Pound and the ownership rules above.

Arrested or jailed? Your vehicle may have been impounded

Player-tested A vehicle that disappears after an arrest is usually not lost to a bug — it can be impounded while you are in jail, and it comes back through the phone. Player shredmentalism reported a 144,000-credit car missing after release from jail, then found it through the garage section on the phone and recovered it (Steam discussion, around August 6, 2026). Moderator Jennoula confirmed the intended route by pointing to the Mechanic app. Independently, loridhm recovered a lost car the same way via the My Garage phone app on August 3 (Steam discussion). Before assuming a save loss after an arrest, check My Garage and the Mechanic app first.

Vehicles exploding nearby is intended, not a bug

Official Dismantling or destroying objects near a vehicle can set off an explosion that sends you to the hospital and costs you items. Moderator Jennoula confirmed "this is an intended mechanic" after player gamingmarcel20 was caught by it twice (Steam discussion, August 5, 2026). Our practical advice: drive your vehicle away before dismantling buildings, crates or other objects near it.

Selling vehicles is not in the game yet

Official There is currently no way to sell a vehicle — including a stolen one with new paint and plates. Moderator Jennoula stated the option "is not currently in the game but it is planned" (Steam discussion, August 2, 2026). Until it ships, treat every vehicle purchase or theft as a permanent addition to your garage.

Evidence and limits

The recovery destinations, 17 Overnight Parking locations, My Garage conditions and stolen-vehicle plate rules come from official Steam updates. Exact repair prices, delays and every Car Pound position are not claimed here because they still need current-build observation.