The Expert Podcast

So many people have the question about gee can I file for an abandoned vehicle and get ownership of a car that I found somewhere can I get a title using an abandoned vehicle claim well let's take a look an abandoned vehicle definition is very important to understand what it is it's usually a vehicle that is just been left somewhere that nobody knows where it came from or what the story is and it doesn't really belong to anybody we're going to take a look at three different states how they qualify abandoned vehicles how they Define it and what you can do with them and what you can't do with them.

You'll notice that in these three states the rules are almost exactly the same why is that well the reason is because the rules that each state uses comes from a federal law the federal law tells the states this is how supposed to do abandoned vehicle so every state uses that guideline when they make their own rules the other thing you'll find is that if you are wanting to be the owner of a vehicle if your instinct is to say hey let's do abandoned vehicle that's probably not going to work and we'll talk about why not but there is something that will work 90s something perc of the time and we'll talk about that at the end.
So first one we're going to look at is Pennsylvania fact sheet on disposal of abandoned vehicles notice it uses the word disposal it doesn't use the word claiming okay so it provides information on disposing of vehicles which have been left on private property that's important private property is probably what you're looking at not left on the side of the road.

Definition of terminology abandon it's an intention to Bandon together with an act abandoned property is that which an owner has relinquished all rights title claim and possession with no intention of reclaiming it or resuming ownership you notice it says to which an owner has it relinquished not the owner so if you have a vehicle that's in your driveway and you say I'm going to say this vehicle is abandoned if you say it's abandon you are an owner that's relinquishing All rights right you're not the owner you might be an owner a possible owner so if you say it's abandoned you abandon it too you're Rel relinquishing white rights with no intention of reclaiming.

So what is the definition Section 102 of the vehicle code defines it as and we'll skip over the public property the vehicle has remained on private property without consent of the owner for 24 hours oh you might say yeah it's been here for more than 24 hours but you didn't read the rest of it it says without the consent of the owner how did it get there did you let somebody park it there and then they overstayed their welcome did you say Hey you can leave it here for a few weeks while you're on vacation and then I come get it did you say bring it here I'll fix your transmission and then you can pick it up right that was with consent did you buy it from somebody on Craigs List and they never gave you a title that had consent because you brought it there so without consent of the owner that's probably a deal breaker.
So what can you do with this here's the following methods oh let's back up methods of disposing of abandoned vehicles from private property all these methods do not apply to private parking lots unless the lots are posted to notify the Restriction so if you're saying I'm a private parking lot you have to have published notice and you have to be in that business.

So what three things can you do number one pursuant to these numbers of the vehicle code the property owner May request a police department to take possession of the vehicle or a salvo which is a junkyard so basically you call the police they either tow it to a junkyard or the junkyard comes and Toes it that's probably not what you want to do right or the property owner May personally remove the vehicle to a place of storage under 3353 well 3353 we know is a junkyard and the junkyard then will take the parts off and auction off the rest that's probably not what you want to do.

Now what's the last one the property owner May Fally Sue in common please Court requesting that an order be entered that Awards ownership of the vehicle that probably sounds like what's on your mind right but that's a clue that's a hint about what you should do in any state to get a title and that is a court order title and here's a sneak peek of our website cartitles.com what is a court order title court order title gives you more info we'll talk about that momentarily so you court order title is a clue.

It also tells you a property owner may not repossess a vehicle for the cost of storing the vehicle unless the owner is a Bonafide warehouseman what does that mean you have to be a licensed storage facility and you have to have signed authorization a Bill incurred for repairs can be collected only by filing a complaint and obtaining judgment that sounds like a court order so both of these two things complaint obtaining judgment and suit in common please gets back to the same destination court order title remember that that's going to be a theme we'll see that again.

Right now we're going to look at another state this is the state of Texas abandoned vehicles when is it considered to be abandoned same thing on the lot for 24 hours you have to send out a notice but you also have to have to have it removed by the police if you are a licens storage facility you can charge fees right you can charge fees if you are a licensed storage facility like a self storage yard it can be sold or transferred at a public auction but you have to have a separate auction for the vehicle which means that you can't keep it for yourself.

And we'll click on one of these laws here to see what the law says first thing you have to do you have to file a notice to the police garage keeper Duty for an abandoned motor vehicle the garagee keeper shall report the abandonment to a law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the vehicle located and pay a $10 fee to make notices a garagee keeper who fails to report within 7 days after it's abandoned may not claim reimbursement for storage so you have to report it to the police if you report it to the police as abandoned they will probably come tow it away they will probably come get it don't let you keep it.

Last one we'll look at is this is California California DMV private parties are not legally able to use the vehicle lean sale which is the abandoned process unless they are lawfully in the business of providing repairs Towing lawfully in the business means you have a license from the state to be a licensed vehicle repair shop automotive repair shop private property owners may have a vehicle removed when the vehicle's abandoned and the tone company can sell it off so all you can do as a private property owner not a licensed business is have the car to away which is probably not what you want to do gets back to the same thing court order title.

What is that you got to remember all of these processes abandoned vehicles mechanics lean storage lean garage holders lean those are all going through the DMV or the title agency in your state they only have certain allowances they only have certain Authority they have to follow certain rules all the rules are laid out in the law if you don't have the last title or a signed repair order or a business license you're done you get nothing you lose the car but the court in your county has authority over the DMV if you go to the court and make a petition saying I want to be the owner of this vehicle here's why it was on my property I bought it and didn't get a title the owner told me I could have it never gave me a title the court can now override the DMV give you a judgment of ownership and get you a title.

You'll find more information about it at this website cartitles.com it'll describe that court order title process in detail give you instructions where you could do it all yourself there's a service if you want to have somebody assist with it the most important thing is don't declare a vehicle to be abandoned once you call it abandoned you can't un do that statement now it's in the system as abandon and and 95% of the time the state or the government or the police are going to come seize it and tow it away and they process it you don't get to keep it.

Cars are not Finders Keepers like finding a $20 bill on the ground cars are titled assets and they have to go through a certain process the court can override that process but that's where you have to go if you say it's abandoned you have to abandon it too and let the state figure out who's supposed to be the owner if you go to court now it's you petitioning the court telling your story and they make the determination but if there's if it's truly abandoned and there's nobody else that's not reported stolen or anything you'll get the vehicle.

So read more about of that car titles if you do have more questions you can actually book a consultation with a certified title agent using the link below to talk about your case in more detail but the most important thing to remember don't jump right to abandoned vehicle as the go-to way to get a title because you'll probably lose the vehicle and never be able to recover it.

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