there has been a car sitting in a supermarket parking lot for about 3 months now. a nice 69 buick. it has a license plate. the car is now getting vandalized . how can i save this car? is there a way to get the title with out finding the owner?
Generally, No. In most States, Providences, and Commonwealths, if you move this rig without the owners permission, you are stealing it.
I have seen this scenario often in the area I grew up in. My guess is that this is a stolen vehicle. Call the cops to look into it. Mention the three months time line. It is probably on their “hot sheet”.
Can you find out who the registered owner is? Is there a registration showing on a sun visor? You should first try to find the owner and deal with them. It is the fastest and easiest way to obtain this rig. It is also the best way to stay out of jail. Next ask the neighbors, perhaps the owner lives across the street and has no where else that they can park their Buick.
If it were abandoned on your property, then you stand a better chance of obtaining title to it. If it is not stolen, then check with your local State, Providence or Commonwealth vehicle titling agency. They have procedures for this. Your local Hot Rod Club will also know what can and can not be done in this situation, as would your local antique car club.
Here in Colorado, If it is not stolen and you can get a bill of sale along with some other paperwork, you can get a bond title. It costs around $250.00 and at least six months. IIRC, It can be converted into a regular title in around three years. YMWV (Your Mileage Will Vary)
IHTH, 48.
If it’s abandoned in a Providence, you could gain title by out-praying everybody else who wants the car.
But if it’s abandoned in a supermarket parking lot, consider asking the manager of the supermarket. They will probably have it towed eventually. Perhaps the owner will never claim it. Perhaps the tow-truck operator will eventually put it up for auction. Perhaps you can get it tolerably cheap there (depending on how thoroughly vandalized and stripped it is by then, I suppose).
the car is in california. I’m going to go to the dmv tomorrow and have them run the plate
I don’t think that’s going to do you much good. As far as I know, DMV will not release any information to you.
You should let the city know about the car, some police departments even have an abandoned vehicle direct line. I think the best you could hope for would be to ask the police to let you know what scrap yard they are going to take the car to, then you might work with that yard to purchase the car after all the paperwork is done. Then just hope the owner doesn’t claim it.
Call the police and they can tow it/return it to the owner. California changed the law - registration information used to be public until used to kill Rebecca Shaeffer.
Around here (Virginia Beach, Virginia), the property owner can have the car towed. As it is in a parking lot, the property owner would probably already have a contract with a company to do that. If you don’t have a contract, getting it towed gets a tad more complicated.
Once it is towed, the owner of the car has a debt to the towing company for the cost of the tow. After a few weeks, they apply to the court for a lien against the car for the money owed, and after the requisite time has passed they will sell the car at auction to try to recover their losses.
Most of the folks bidding at those auctions are scrap dealers, so if you are willing to pay more than $40 per ton, you can come away with a decent car cheap.
There are also mechanic’s lien auctions, but those are usually handled separately.
In a providence it would be providential.
In a president it would be presidential.
In a province it would be Canadian.
Years ago my wife was able to get a salvage title to an abandoned car on the property she was renting, this enabled her to call up a towing company who hauled it away for scrap.
But this car had been rusting away in the back woods for at least a decade.
It’s called a salvage title. Almost all states have this and the rules for each state vary. Basically, you put out a public notice intwo or three newspapers for a month. If no one responds, you can then get a salvage title. However, if the original owner comes forward, even after the salvage title has been issued, they can get the car back and you are out any money you put in.
I found a link (Google to the rescue!): www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/salvage.htm
Also, you are in luck in that VIN numbers were not standardized until the late 70’s and may or may not have a serial number in them. Mostly, it was like model/trim/paint, maybe a 4 digitt serial that would roll over. So, in theory, for a popular car in a popular trim in a popular color, you can have legit multiples of the same VIN.
'69 Buick has some decent styling, definately try and save it.
Some people will go so far as to salvage title in one state, re-title in another state, and then re-title back in their state. Occludes the original owner and prevents someone who left the vehicle to come back and just take it. Well, not as easily but then there is more burden of proof on their part and they’ll have to get a lawyer, etc. Which can rapidly exceed the value of the car.
the car is getting towed tomorrow. i am going to then try to buy it from the tow company
If a President it would be a Studebaker.
Were it on a continent, it would be a Continental. Or maybe this kind of continental.
I was going to suggest the same thing.
I noticed that a truck in my apartment building’s parking never seemed to move or be maintained (snow never brushed off it, that kind of thing) and contacted the rental office because I wondered if it had been abandoned. It hadn’t; the guy who owns it still lives here and just never used it for whatever reason. I’ve seen it moved around since then.
Good luck! I hope this works out for you. Even if the towing company gets in touch with the owner via the VIN, maybe you could still arrange to buy it from the owner - they don’t seem too keen on keeping it.
Around here the cities have a contract with a towing company. So if you call the police and the police arranges the tow, the towing company will tow the car, try to contact the owner and store the car for a few months. Then if unclaimed during that time there is an auction of these automobiles.