remove an abandoned car from private property?

[barracuda7199]

i have a friend with a yard ornament in the form of a 71 challenger with a running 440 auto. the car isn't his and he hasn't heard from the owner in years. he wants it gone and i want it!! what steps do i have to take? and it is a factory 318 car not a R/T and it is rough but has a ton of good parts!!

[ToxicWolf]

Every State has laws about this and quite often they change depending on the county, so be careful. Talk to someone in your area that can tell you what to do. Local towing companies might be a good place to ask questions. They are pretty well up on what you can do about towing away a car.

The first thing you should probably do is try to find the owner.

[dusty]

Depends on your state and it will be a bit of a hassle. The first thing is talk to your local tag & title office. Explain the situation and then see if you want to proceed.

In short (Tennessee) you'll have to have the property owner file a lien against it, and then probably apply for a new title if the owner doesn't respond in X amount of days.

If the owner doesn't respond you'll be required to run a few ads in local papers advertising the car in the want ads under the legal section asking anyone who has ownership or claim to come forward..

After that time period has passed they should issue you a title...

Shouldn't be a difficult process, but these things always seem to be a little more difficult than forecast.

However it has been a long time sitting it should be easier than a car that was parked just a year or so ago.

Good luck! I'd for sure contact the local tag and title office and have them run the VIN for the last year it was registered.

Should be a snap!

[burdar]

We had a mid 80's Daytona sitting at the shop for over a year.  We had no contact info and no one had called us about it.  The police chief was in for an oil change one day and I asked him about what to do.  He said as long as it's been sitting over a year, he could start the process of getting it issued as an abandoned vehicle.  A letter was sent to the last registered owner and they didn't' come forward.  I think it was only about 2 weeks.  The car was listed as abandoned and we got the car.

[AARCUDADEN]

We had a mid 80's Daytona sitting at the shop for over a year.  We had no contact info and no one had called us about it.  The police chief was in for an oil change one day and I asked him about what to do.  He said as long as it's been sitting over a year, he could start the process of getting it issued as an abandoned vehicle.  A letter was sent to the last registered owner and they didn't' come forward.  I think it was only about 2 weeks.  The car was listed as abandoned and we got the car.

I'm thinking along these lines as well