The short answer
Use this process only after an authorised source confirms that the rental vehicle was towed or impounded. If its location is still unexplained, stop and use the missing-or-stolen-vehicle process instead. Identify the exact authority, tow operator and storage site through an official or contractual channel; tell the rental company before paying, signing, collecting or driving. Ask each responsible party for its own written conditions, keep fines, tow and storage fees, contract charges and insurance decisions separate, and rebuild the trip only from an accepted release or replacement. A data-only eSIM may support later non-critical web tasks; it cannot prove a tow, authorise release, pay a fee, settle liability, make calls or guarantee reception.
Confirm the tow without guessing
Begin with the place where the vehicle was parked and a channel you can authenticate: the parking operator, accommodation, rental branch, police or municipal transport authority. Record who confirms the move, the vehicle registration, removal time, stated reason, present facility and official reference. Do not rely on a note, QR code, sponsored search result or unsolicited message alone; reach the named organisation independently. If no authorised source can confirm custody and location, do not treat the vehicle as towed. Move to a safe staffed place, preserve the last known facts and follow the separate rental-vehicle-theft procedure. A tracker position is not a release instruction or permission to enter a depot.
Separate documents, release conditions and money
Request a written list for this exact case: original or accepted identity, driving licence, rental agreement, vehicle papers, keys, authority reference, proof of permitted driver, payment methods and any deadline. Do not assume a photo, translation, police note or digital wallet is accepted. Ask for an itemised statement that distinguishes any parking or traffic penalty, towing charge, storage by date or hour, administrative fee, deposit and rental-company charge. Pay only through the verified responsible channel and keep a receipt; never send card details or identity files to an unverified contact. Payment may not itself authorise release, waive an appeal, decide liability or create insurance reimbursement, so ask each decision-maker separately.
Inspect the accepted outcome and rebuild the trip
Before collection, confirm who may enter the facility, whether the car may legally be driven, where keys and papers are, and whether new damage, immobilisation or a collision report changes the process. Follow site safety instructions and record only proportionate condition evidence permitted by the rental company and facility. Do not repair, tow onward, cross a border, add a driver or accept a replacement unless the relevant authority and rental company have approved that outcome. Rebuild every remaining stop from the vehicle or transport actually released: changed pickup, accommodation, ferry, border, return time and fuel or charging commitment. Save non-sensitive confirmations and maps offline and keep an independent urgent-contact route.
Compare only the ordinary data left after release
Only after custody, required calls, release authority, documents, payment route and accepted onward transport are settled should you list non-critical internet tasks: opening an official portal, ordinary messaging, viewing a confirmed route or uploading an authorised receipt. Subtract tested Wi-Fi, working home roaming and offline files. Continue only when every country of use appears on the live plan, validity and activation match the changed trip, and the available unlocked phone is compatible. Stop before checkout if you need police, depot or rental calls, carrier SMS, a local number, identity or payment acceptance, release authorisation, legal advice, reimbursement, roadside dispatch or guaranteed road and depot reception; current CheapESIM offers provide none of those outcomes.