A southwest Oklahoma City auto shop charged a local family more than $250 a day to store their wrecked vehicle — a rate that ballooned into thousands of dollars before the company agreed to bring the bill down to what state law actually allows. Maria Magueyal was involved in a wreck near the end of August, and All Star Auto Body towed her vehicle from the scene after she signed paperwork authorizing the tow.
From there, the family says the costs spiraled. As reported by KFOR, the shop required payment before it would return the vehicle, and a family member named Victor said the storage bill had already reached around $8,000 the previous week. By the time KFOR got involved, Victor said the most recent total was probably over $9,000. Victor said Maria Magueyal missed work without her vehicle.
A Storage Rate Far Above the Legal Cap
Oklahoma law caps how much wreckers and repair shops can charge per day for vehicle storage, and the station's report notes that state law allows around $75 per day for a total-loss car — nowhere near the $250-plus daily rate the family says they were billed. The dispute centered on whether the shop's bill exceeded the state limits for this kind of storage.
Storage charges were central to the Magueyal family's dispute. For vehicles determined to be a total loss, a separate statute — 36 O.S. § 1274 — caps daily storage at $39 for the first 10 calendar days, rising to a maximum of $75 per day starting on day 11, per Westlaw's record of the law.
Family Turns to the Media After Repeated Calls
With the bill nowhere close to shrinking, the Magueyal family contacted News 4 for help. News 4 then reached out directly to the CEO of the company that owns All Star Auto Body, which is headquartered in California and operates with rates that differ from Oklahoma's statutory limits.
CEO Martin Robles told the outlet that All Star Auto Body is willing to obey Oklahoma law and charge what the law allows, adding that he is not in the business of breaking the law. Victor went on to pay the smaller, legally required amount — but the shop still did not immediately hand back the vehicle. The family had to call News 4 several more times, and the outlet called All Star Auto Body again, before the shop agreed to return the vehicle on Wednesday.
Where Oklahoma Drivers Can Turn
Oklahoma's regulatory setup for towing disputes shifted more than a decade ago: oversight and rate enforcement for nonconsensual towing were transferred from the Department of Public Safety to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission under House Bill 1743 in November 2011, according to the commission. That agency's Transportation Division is also where drivers who believe they were overcharged can file a formal complaint for mediation, provided they submit a copy of the wrecker or repair shop invoice along with the complaint.
The commission's rules include other protections that could matter for families caught in similar situations. Storage fees cannot be stacked within a single day — operators are barred from charging more than one day's storage if a vehicle is held for less than 24 hours — and after-hours vehicle release fees are capped at $19.95 per quarter-hour when a shop releases a car outside standard business hours or on weekends and holidays.
The storage rate caps themselves aren't static. In June 2024, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved a 33% increase to nonconsensual towing and storage rates statewide, citing that rates had not been considered for several years and inflation, according to Oklahoma Energy Today. All Star Auto Body's Oklahoma location sits at 107 SW 29th Street in Oklahoma City and advertises 24/7 towing alongside collision repair and insurance claim support, according to the company's own listing.
