The Expert Podcast

So, how hard is it for towing companies to get an abandoned vehicle mechanics lien? Well, so hard that they have to pass a new law that says tow companies can take your license plate off your car. You might think that if you tow a car, you should just be able to auction it off or do an abandoned vehicle. Well, here's the problem: there was so much fraud with abandoned vehicle and mechanics lien applications that all 50 states' DMV departments have cracked down on mechanics liens and abandoned vehicles.

Many people were using that process as a way to get titles for vehicles they weren't supposed to have titles for or that they should have used some other process for. So many states shut down their entire mechanics lien and abandoned vehicle processing. In some states, like Oklahoma, they have to pass a law to let the legitimate towing companies do something to be able to get their money back because these cars are piling up on the lots.

We work with dozens and dozens of towing companies and automotive professionals, and they tell us all the time that all of their mechanic lien applications are rejected and kicked back for very small details and technicalities because the state really doesn't want to give them out. They know there's a lot of fraud going on. There are people on Craigslist and online on these scam websites offering to do mechanics liens to get you a title when really that's not what happened to the vehicle.

So, before you think about abandoned vehicles, before you think about mechanics liens, make sure that you look into the details. It's very likely that your application will be rejected. States are doing it all the time, and they might even flag the applicant to be investigated to make sure they're not flipping cars or doing a whole bunch of these fraudulent mechanics liens or abandoned vehicles.