[LemmyThe1972Wagon]

good news everybody(for me anyway)! i called my DMV and asked about it. they said that i could call my local law agency, have them tow and impound the car, then once they're finished with the paperwork, i could buy it off of them, in which case they would give me a title and i would be the official owner of the car. i'm going to wait a week, cause i still want to go back to get the VIN and inspect more than just the driver's side of the car, but once i have the VIN, i'll send out for a PHS and get it towed if it's not still registered. i can check online to see if it's registered or not, so i won't be ruining any lives here. i'll only be saving one--the car's.

[68lemansman]

Nice!! Get R' done

[MescaBug]

When you say 'buy it off of them', you mean the car or just the title? If its the car, who's gonna value it?

Who's gonna pay for the towing, impouding and whatnot? Sorry lots of questions, Im from Canada, laws are different here. Im just curious .

[LemmyThe1972Wagon]

i would buy the car, and the title would be included with it. i'm not sure if i'll have to pay for the towing or any fees to get it out of the impound lot. since the city would be towing it, i can't imagine i would have to pay for the towing, but if i do, i'd be fine with it because i'd have to pay to have it towed out of the brush and to my house anyway, so that's an expected cost of buying the car. and who knows? once i get the VIN, i might find that the car is still registered, and be able to just buy it from the owner and skip the whole mess of calling the cops. in this kind of situation, there's a lot that can happen and nothing is certain.

[1stgenbird]

Being you're in Florida, watch out for those pesky snakes that may have taken up residence.

[muscle_collector]

have you checked around to see if anyone knows who owns it? get the legal description of the land and look the owner up to see if it is his or not. if it does get impounded, they cant just sell it to you, they would have to notify the last registered owner and if he didnt pick it up, they would auction it off at a public auction. just doesnt seem right to me to just take a car from somewhere that you dont own.

[Tony69]

Were having a similar situation in SA where there is an El Camino, no wheels, no engine or gearbox, just sitting on the side of the highway. If someone doesnt collect it, the scrapmetal scavengers will slowly eat away at it.

If its on 'nobodies property' its probably 'nobodies property'.

[Tony69]

You wont be able to feel the vin number from the inside, its too far down. Best to clean the windshield a bit & use a small paint brush to clean away debris from the inside.

Originally Posted by LemmyThe1972Wagon

the odd thing is, i heard it was supposed to be under the windshield on the driver's side, more or less in the same place as it is on my pair of '72's, but i couldn't see or feel anything from the inside of the car. i'll bring some windex next time to clean the windshield enough to try seeing it through there.

[geberhard]

hmmm I woudl not trust the DMV on that. The process teh DMV person will take time, maybe a YEAR plus and will not guarantee th athe tow company liens the car, or simply teh tow guy likes it and process it for the tow company! And you may not ever be able to see it etc. I have a friend that works on a ow company and has gathered quite a few nice rides that way. Sucky, yep, but a free car is a a free car.

My recommendation is to go to your AAA office, if not a member get a $50 membership worth the trouble. Then give them the VIN and plate info, mention you are buying the car and interestd in finding out the status of the registration, etc.

Good news is no back fees in most stats, bad news s they may not be able to get it as well. My buddy just ent through the trouble of buying a tow truck (really cool antique tow truck) but had to go through multiple hoops to get the car.

There are several ways to do it, and pretty much all legal and teh right way but you take multiple chances and really depends of teh DMV person you ar working with. Some may kick paperwork back. some may provide you misinformation, etc. DMV = luck of the draw.

A couple approaches I know below (name changed to protct the innocent):

"I had to do 4 of these deals last year at my dealership. If it is out of the system I just go into the dmv with an application for new title and the vin verification form filled out by a peace officer. I tell them it is mine and has been stored offroad for years and I lost the title. Sometimes I have to fill out a statement of facts stating it has been off of public roads and where it was stored. I have never left without a temporary title in hand. Usually takes about 15 minutes. I did the same thing with the 69 Trans Am so I could keep the original title. - Mark"


"1996 it was last registered, I sent them a certified letter it was returned undeliverable.
It's no longer in ca DMV database. I've had it vin checked by the police it's not listed as stolen. DMV said I had to Lien sale it; did all the paperwork sent my check to Sacramento; they kicked it back and returned the check and said I couldn't Lien sale it because I had paid money for it. John"

I would start by trying to find out the owner, again, if you gt it towed by DMV\local police\inpound, etc, chances are slim if any of you getting the car.

Then send a certified letter to the owner\known last owner, or poperty owner.

The property owner can do a lien sale of the car in his property or can pursue the title as mentioned on example 1 above. If the poperty owner doe snot care about the car, and you are able to see the car is not stolen, etc, you can obtain a lien sale or statement of facts doc from the property owner stating the prop owner does not have the title and wants to sell the car in his property which has been there for X many years. You can then arrange towing then get the vin inspected (DMV form), i.e. signed off by police offer.

You can alternatively work with a Surety company which may b pricey but worth the trouble.

Either way good luck! and great find!

[Sethmast]

That dog tag could be your first clue

[LemmyThe1972Wagon]

geberhard--thanks for the info. i'll keep that in mind before calling local law enforcement. like i've said, i'm definitely going to try the VIN number and tracking down the last known owner before doing anything else. and Sethmast, i was also thinking about getting the info off of that dog tag. i'm wondering if maybe it belonged to a kid who got killed offshore and the parents couldn't bear to let go of their son's car and kept it until they, too, left. i've already found the form i need to find out if the car is registered, and all i need is the VIN, and a couple dollars for the fees, so i'll be going that route first. luckily you can't see it from the road, so it's not like there's a time limit or anything.

[LemmyThe1972Wagon]

i just thought of something...now, it's late and i just got off of work, so i'm a little tired and exhausted, so maybe my brain isn't working right, but let's see what you guys think of this. now, my DMV said they only retain license and registration records for 10 years, and the car has been sitting with an expired tag for 30. now, let's say i look into the VIN and find that it is not currently registered in the USA, therefore logic would dictate that that means the car does not belong to anybody as far as the USA government is concerned. just for the purpose of this idea, let's say that is what happens. if it's not currently registered and it would be out of their system, i wonder if maybe i could file for a lost title, say the car was bought about 20 years ago by my dad, and the title was lost during one of our moves. then once we receive the title, we have the car towed home and it's officially and legally mine(although my dad would certainly have fun with it if he can fit himself behind the steering wheel). does that sound like it might work? i'm not a bad guy, i'm gonna make damn sure it's not currently registered before trying anything like this, but if it's not owned, i wonder if this would work.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The tags and registration might only go back 10 years - but the title history should go back to the last title transaction regardless of years. IF IT WAS EVER TITLED IN FLORIDA ... that is.

You want them to search for the last title transaction.

I found a 69 Bird, and a 70 GTO, that i wanted to get and keep to fix, on seperate occasions many years ago.
Both had been sitting for long years going by the inspection stickers.
(i know florida doesn't require those - or didn't use to anyway)

Both turned out to have liens still against them from way back.
That was the end of it for me.

[Goat & Chicken Farmer]

Originally Posted by LemmyThe1972Wagon

let's see what you guys think of this.

Yea...NO. Un-truths will lead to bad karma. The truth will set you free! I sure hope you are able to claim this apparently abandoned gem!

[Teej]

x2 It might work out, but it will always be there in the back of your mind. And that Karma? It's a bi*ch.... I still think you can find a way to work it out. By the way, I was quite surprised to read you were in FL. (Me too...) You just don't seem to see stories like this in FL.

One question for geberhard.. You posted "My recommendation is to go to your AAA office, if not a member get a $50 membership worth the trouble. " What all can AAA tell you?

[LemmyThe1972Wagon]

Originally Posted by Teej

By the way, I was quite surprised to read you were in FL. (Me too...) You just don't seem to see stories like this in FL.

actually, my dad drives around a lot because he owns his own delivery service, and he sees cars in situations like this all the time. usually they're actually in someone's yard or it's at least obvious the car does belong to somebody, but once in a while he'll see a car just sitting, waiting for the last piece of its plastic and rubber to deteriorate, for the glass to turn to sand, and for the metal to flake away into the wind. i remember one time i was with him and he showed me a '68-'69 GTO sitting in a covered porch next to an obviously abandoned house, and even from the road you could tell that junkyard cars were pristine compared to that car. i doubt there was a single nut or bolt left on that car that was saveable. the glass was all shattered too, so you know the interior was completely destroyed, if it was even still there.

i've also decided that when i see the car next, i'm gonna check the glove box and console compartment and see if maybe the past registration or title or proof of insurance might be hangin out in there. something to tell me if there is still a LIVING owner or not. i only know of the driver's side under the windshield for checking the VIN, where else can i see the VIN? i only know where to look on my pair of '72's, i would imagine '69's would be different.

[muscle_collector]

Originally Posted by LemmyThe1972Wagon

i just thought of something...now, it's late and i just got off of work, so i'm a little tired and exhausted, so maybe my brain isn't working right, but let's see what you guys think of this. now, my DMV said they only retain license and registration records for 10 years, and the car has been sitting with an expired tag for 30. now, let's say i look into the VIN and find that it is not currently registered in the USA, therefore logic would dictate that that means the car does not belong to anybody as far as the USA government is concerned. just for the purpose of this idea, let's say that is what happens. if it's not currently registered and it would be out of their system, i wonder if maybe i could file for a lost title, say the car was bought about 20 years ago by my dad, and the title was lost during one of our moves. then once we receive the title, we have the car towed home and it's officially and legally mine(although my dad would certainly have fun with it if he can fit himself behind the steering wheel). does that sound like it might work? i'm not a bad guy, i'm gonna make damn sure it's not currently registered before trying anything like this, but if it's not owned, i wonder if this would work.

sounds to me like that translates into conspiracy to commit fraud and then when you do it, you have committed fraud.

[LemmyThe1972Wagon]

Originally Posted by muscle_collector

sounds to me like that translates into conspiracy to commit fraud and then when you do it, you have committed fraud.

but if no one owns the car, would anyone care?

[1stgenbird]

Then does the end justify the means? So it's ok to commit fraud depending on the circumstances?

[LemmyThe1972Wagon]

well, i got the point, i just had to wonder.