An abandoned car - what to do?

[miamicuse]

I recently purchased a property which is vacant. The sellers are out of town, retired in old age and living in nursing home. I have been dealing with their daughter who had power of attorney. Now that the closing is over, I found a van parked in the swale area, apparently belong to her parents, still with a 2004 license tag on the van and it has an expired license citation on the windshield. Who knows how long it has been sitting there...

Several emails to their daughter - no reply, not sure they care what happens to it and probably did not even want to be bothered.

How should I handle this van? I have no key, no title...tow to junk yard?

MC

[cm]

Push it in the street and call the police and let them know there is an abandoned car on their city street. I have done this 3 or 4 times.

[lee_houston]

I'd suggest calling local law enforcement to pick it up. they'll probably impound it and seek the owner.

lee h

[ameijers]

If the daughter is local, have it towed to her place, and send her the bill.

aem sends...

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Junk yard may take it and give you $35 or so. They may want the title though but it only takes a phone call to find out.. Why not ask the police about it?

[Eigenvector]

It's your vehicle now, so far as I know everything on the property belongs to the buyer after the deal is closed. I even think that means licenced vehicles.

If you don't want the thing, put it in neutral and push it into the street then call the cops like a lot of posters have suggested. The police will ensure it gets back to the rightful owners - even if they resort to auctioning it.

[Joey]

I guess you wanted some legal advice, so here goes.

The car is not legally yours unless you have a valid bill of sale and/or title.

The police can not tow a vehicle off of property property.

You, as the property owner, can legally call a wrecker and have them tow it off. They will charge the owner storage fees and towing. If the owner does not claim the vehicle within 30 days, the towing company must publish the vehicle as being abandoned to give the owner a chance to claim it. If they don't claim it, then the wrecker company will get it by default and they can obtain a title through the State.

Don't push the vehicle out on the roadway for it to be considered abandoned on the street. If anything happened to it and someone saw you do this, you can be held liable for damages in small claims court.

Hope this helps.

J

miamicuse wrote:

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Cars need a title to be registered, sold, and often junked unless it is over a certain age. That may vary by state. Even if he does "own" it, he can't do much with it aside from making it into a planter.

[Eigenvector]

So that how that is dealt with, I wasn't sure about that aspect, because you're right they do have a title and registration. If you read the text on your deed it's pretty explicit in stating anything on the property is yours after signing, but like you pointed out you can't do anything with it until the title of the vehicle is transferred.

[gfretwell]

That sounds right. I have had this problem myself and that is what happened.

[trainfan1]

Part it out on eBay. Cut up the remaining hulk & put it in the scrap metal heap at the transfer station. Little bit at a time.

Rob

[Doug Miller]

Unless it's a stick shift, it's gonna be pretty tough to put it in neutral without the ignition key....

[David Martel]

miami,

You can try to get the daughter or her parents to remove the van but it may be your van. Was it on the property at closing? Send them a certified letter giving them 30 days then call the junkman.

Dave M.

[The Reverend Natural Light]

Before you do anything anyone else here has suggested, talk to your local department of motor vehicles. They deal with this all the time.

In my area (VA), you could:

1. Perform a title search at the DMV.
2. Send a registered letter to the owners.
3. Wait a specified amount of time for them to move it or ignore you.
4. Auction it off to the highest bidder.
5. Fill out the proper form and obtain the title.

Or:

Write up an explanation of how you came to posess the vehicle and how the previous owners have abandoned it, attach copies documenting the sale of the property it sits on, and submit an affidavit in lieu of title to the DMV. If the DMV manager agrees, then you get a title.

I've done both successfully.

-rev

miamicuse wrote:

[Goedjn]

You claim it as abandonded property, have a locksmith make a key, and sell it for $1000.

[Dan]

Just out of curiosity, are we talking about a 15 year old junker or a relatively new vehicle with some value? I would assume the first?

Dan

[trader4]

And I say you are very wrong. Suppose I had left a car in storage with someone. They turn around and sell the place without telling me. You're claiming the new owners now own my car?

Every state has laws concerning abandoned property. If you don't follow them, you're likely to wind up in big trouble.

[trader4]

Yeah, and how do you get the title to it? The advice Joey gave made the most sense. I'd send a registered letter to the owner and give them 2 weeks to get it out of there. Then I'd contact a tow company. It's very likely they will tow it, impound it and if no one shows up to claim it, they generally have the authority to sell it.

[Charlie Bress]

MC

Real estate is defined as the land and everything that is attached to it. The vehicle is clearly not attached. It is personal property and not real property. What you think has no bearing on the facts.

[Goedjn]

Depends on where the property is. First order of business is to call the local police business line and ask them if they know the standard (local) process, and if not, who would.