72 Chevy abandoned????

[sjarrett71]

I don't know if anyone remembers but I had a 72 Chevy 2wd that I had to sell in order to buy my new house. Well I found it last night in an apartment complex parking lot and it had one of my old license plates in it, expired in Feb 08. The plate belonged to my 71 that I had traded for the 72. I have no idea how it got in the truck because I got new plates for the 72. Anyway, I checked the registration and ran the title on the 72 and the title has never been switched over, it's still in my name. According to the apartment manager the truck has not moved for quite some time. I'm thinking about hooking a tow truck up to it and towing it home then filing for a duplicate/lost title. Of course I'll check with the tenants first to see if it actually belongs to anyone. Is this morally wrong?

[sameyrasmea72]

The question is, is it wrong for that guy to leave the truck in your name where you might be liably if something happened.

[chevy72blu]

Originally Posted by sameyrasmea72

The question is, is it wrong for that guy to leave the truck in your name where you might be liably if something happened.

X2

Put up some signs ala lost dog style, and see if anything comes back.

Maybe something awful happened to the new owner?

Interesting story, thats for sure..

[Bus Ted Knuckle]

well, you sold the truck, so yes, that would be wrong of you to take it back again. Track down the new owner and see what the deal is.

[sjarrett71]

What if, after I make a valiant effort, I can't find the new owner? What if it is really abandoned and the property manager wants it out of there? Would it be wrong of me to take it then? If the police tow it they will contact the registered owner (me) anyway.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Do you remember the name of the fella who bought it? Does the apartment owner still have them as a registered tennant? Or did they EVER live there? Or does a "friend" live there and they're storing the truck there.

My apartment complex has a rule (it's in the lease when you sign it) that NO unregistered vehicles are allowed on the premesis. If the truck is still in your name it's safe to assume it was never registered?

Wrong? Yes. Tempting to do.... you bet....

[boundstaffpress]

Yes it's wrong.

Ethics = What you should do
Morals = What most people do. What people actually do.
These two are often confused.

You took money for the car, so it no longer belongs to you. Legally you are still responsible for the vehicle, which is unfair to you. If you did take it home, you would always feel guilty about making any changes or selling it again.

You can make an agreement with the apt. manager to tow the vehicle away, if he has a policy about abandoned vehicles. You still shouldn't (ethics) drive the truck or work on it. You would just be storing it. Like any other impound lot.

The police may have some input about morals. What is allowed, and what people actually do. If it truly is abandoned they may have a way for you to claim found property if no one can be found to take possession of it. Then you could sleep at night.

Remember it is a long way back from the pearly gates to say you are sorry for stealing a pickup.

[420am]

Ask around, leave a nice big note on it and if no one contacts you in 30 days then I think you should take it home. You are correct that if the apt manager calls the police to haul it off that they will contact you; as you are the registered owner. I sold a car and had the same thing happen. I really didn't want the car or I would have went and got it and re-sold it.

[Hutch]

I had the same thing happen to me although the vehicle had already been towed to the city pound.
I received a certified letter in the mail notifying me that it had been abandoned and towed to the pound.
I was required to pay the tow fees and storage fees in order to get it out.
I went to the city’s Police Department they issued me a slip of paper saying that I was the registered owner and I paid the fees and got it back.
I was told that after it was in the pound that the registered owner was the only person that could retrieve it.
I then got a duplicate title.
I sold it again and this time I made sure that the title was transferred to the new owner.

[thewrai6th]

Originally Posted by Hutch

I had the same thing happen to me although the vehicle had already been towed to the city pound.
I received a certified letter in the mail notifying me that it had been abandoned and towed to the pound.
I was required to pay the tow fees and storage fees in order to get it out.

Same exact thing happened to me, except I didn't want the POS Toyota back and I told em to keep it, after getting a new title and paying the towing and storage fees... The guy who bought it has 10 days to transfer the title. If it's still in your name, you are still liable for towing, parking tickets and storage fees and it's technically still yours. It is not uncommon for people to buy a vehilcle with current registration and then drive it into the ground and leave it on the side of the road.

[Ole Blue 68]

Originally Posted by thewrai6th

Same exact thing happened to me, except I didn't want the POS Toyota back and I told em to keep it, after getting a new title and paying the towing and storage fees... The guy who bought it has 10 days to transfer the title. If it's still in your name, you are still liable for towing, parking tickets and storage fees and it's technically still yours. It is not uncommon for people to buy a vehilcle with current registration and then drive it into the ground and leave it on the side of the road.

Same thing here... The salvage yard told me that if I chose to not pay the fees (towing and storage at like $50/day), the state would transfer the title to them and they'd either wholesale it or scrap it out. I didn't want the car so I told them to keep it.

In this case, I say if you make an honest attempt to find the current owner and can't, then keep the truck. Why let some salvage yard benefit off of this? Ain't nothing wrong with that in my book.

[LEEVON]

Originally Posted by thewrai6th

Same exact thing happened to me, except I didn't want the POS Toyota back and I told em to keep it, after getting a new title and paying the towing and storage fees... The guy who bought it has 10 days to transfer the title. If it's still in your name, you are still liable for towing, parking tickets and storage fees and it's technically still yours. It is not uncommon for people to buy a vehilcle with current registration and then drive it into the ground and leave it on the side of the road.

Been there, done that. Got stuck with a towing bill more than I sold the vehicle for and to top it off they crushed it by the time I got notice...

I would make an agreement with the manager to tow it off and begin looking for the owner. Until you know the situation don't title it. When the guy calls he'll either be honest and you'll feel good about giving it back, or he'll be a prick and you can offer to buy it back for a small amount.

[sjarrett71]

The person I sold it to doesn't live there. He's a business owner in town and has a nice house out in the country. I guess he never registered it either and sold it to someone else. If the police tow it they are required to notify the last registered owner and that would be me. It's a fairly decent truck and I'd hate to se it go to waste. I guess the best course of action is just wait for it to be towed.

[cdowns]

you sold it it's not yours anymore it's called stealing and would make you a thief

[Zumo]

Wow. Call as a tennant and complain and have it towed. Haha.

[lowriden58]

how long ago did you sell it to the guy?

[boundstaffpress]

I think I would start with the guy you sold it to.

[Putter]

1) Take it home (if anyone says you stole it, have the police check the registration...YOU)
2) Cover it up
3) Store it for as long as you feel you need to (call it LOST & FOUND)
4) If someone comes along with bill of sale, etc...to show they bought if from that other guy, give them a STORAGE BILL
4-b) If no one claims it, it will default out of LOST & FOUND, so you sell it again.

If someone used it to rob a store, they would trace it back to YOU...and you'd have the task of proving it WASN'T you.
Save yourself the headache and safely store it for the actual owner....even if it turns out to be you.

If you feel that guilty, leave $20 with the apartment owner to give to anyone who claims it. Basically buy it back....but without all the paperwork!

[sjarrett71]

I sold it last July.

[drunkbus]

Check with the police dept. or DMV and see what the laws are regarding a situation like this. They may say you can take it back and that way you don't have to feel guilty or worry about breaking any laws.

[Ol'Rover]

if i were you, ide have a towtruck pulling it home already.

[70rs/ss]

Well, wrong isn't so much a moral issue. the Apartment guy says it's abandoned, it's in your name, you are responsible. Go pick it up or you could get a letter like I did. I sold a vehicle, the new "buyer" never transferred the title, used a plate (sounds just like your deal, doesn't it!) off of another vehicle and it got towed, he went to jail. I got a tow bill VIA the MVD for over $1800!!! I had the responsibility (not the right, so again it isn't a moral issue, it is a legal responsibility of your's as the registered owner!) to pay it or the title would be surrendered. The truck wasn't worth the tow bill so I let it go, you on the other hand could be getting charged for towing storage, yadda yadda, from the towyard or the Apartment complex or both. Go get it. If the buyer wanted it, they should have switched the title, he didn't and left you open to liability. In all seriousness, if this bozo got drunk and killed someone with the truck you can and will be sued as the vehicle is your's, LEGALLY as it has never been switched.

[jkaylor68gmc]

Lighten up onhim guys, If the apratment owner tries to contact the owner and they can't get ahold of him, then the apartment owner owns it. He can sell it to you.

[hotrodhomi]

Have the property owner do a lien sale.

[jugernot]

Originally Posted by hotrodhomi

Have the property owner do a lien sale.

I agree with hotrodhomi. This way you are all covered legally and stops whom ever it was sold to from coming after you and reclaiming the truck.