Your rental car got towed in Montenegro

You walk back to where you parked and the car is gone. On the Montenegrin coast this is almost never theft — it is the “pauk”, the local name for the tow truck (it means “spider”). In summer it works briskly, especially in Budva and Kotor, clearing yellow-marked kerbs and no-parking zones faster than you would expect.

The drill is short: call the police on 122, find out where the pound is, go there with your passport, driving licence and rental agreement, and pay for the tow. Getting the car back costs €60 to €150 including the fine, depending on the town. Below: how to confirm the car was towed, where to look for it and how to get it back when the car is a rental.

Step 1. Make sure it was the tow truck

Signs it was the pauk and not a thief:

• you were parked on yellow markings, under a sign, on a disabled bay, across an exit or by the rubbish containers;
• other cars are still parked around the spot — nobody steals from the middle of a packed street;
• sometimes the service leaves a chalk mark or a sticker on the asphalt.

The fastest check is to call the police on 122. They log every tow and will tell you whether the car was taken and where. Have the registration number ready — it is written in your rental agreement, which is the first reason to carry the agreement with you rather than leave it in the glovebox.

If the police have no record of the car — that is when it becomes a theft report, and the rental company must be called immediately.

Step 2. Find out where the pound is

Towing is run by the municipal parking companies — the Parking servis of each town: Budva, Kotor, Podgorica, Tivat, Herceg Novi, Bar. Each has its own pound, usually not far from the centre.

The police on 122 will tell you which one, and so will the parking company itself — its number is printed on the ticket machines and signs of that town’s paid zones. Addresses and opening hours change, so asking beats searching the map.

Step 3. Collect the car

Bring to the pound:

• your driving licence and passport;
• the rental agreement — it proves your right to the car. Owner or not, the car is released to the person named in the agreement;
• money. The bill is the tow itself plus storage per day: €60 to €150 including the fine, depending on the town. Exact tariffs differ from town to town — phone ahead to ask how much and whether cards are accepted: cash is the safer bet.

The parking fine itself is a separate story: it may be issued on the spot or arrive later through the rental company, which will charge your card and add its own processing fee. We covered that mechanism in what can go wrong with a rental.

Should you call the rental company

Short answer: yes. Formally you can collect the car yourself, but the call does two things. If the pound insists on the owner, the company sorts it out over the phone in minutes. And you learn straight away whether anything else is coming — a fine, a fee — instead of finding a surprise on your card a month later.

How not to repeat it

• Yellow markings on the kerb or asphalt mean no parking. The single rule most visitors do not know.
• In the centres of Budva, Kotor and Herceg Novi parking is paid and zoned — ticket machine or SMS. Paying by SMS only works with a Montenegrin SIM card. Leave a car unpaid in Budva and the fine is €50. How it works is covered in parking in Montenegro.
• “Everyone parks here” is not an argument: in summer the pauk clears such streets row by row.
• In doubt — use a paid car park. An hour in Budva costs €1–2; a tow costs €60 to €150 including the fine, and that is before you count the nerves.

Deposits, excess and the other money details of renting are on our car rental in Montenegro page.

---

Prices checked in September 2026. Related reading: parking in Montenegro, car accident: what to do and what can go wrong with a rental.