well i had a customer bring me a car to subframe like 6 or so years ago and i did the subframe for him within a couple weeks ... then he wanted me to put the motor in it for him also... so his buddy brings me the motor on a trailer.... leaves the motor and trailer the owner of the car comes over a month later and says that the motor on the trailer isnt his because chevy never made a blue motor... i was like ok whatever... so he says i sold his motor to someone else and put this one on the trailer in its place... well 6 or 7 years have gone by and i havent talked to this guy in like 3-4 years and he wont return any of my calls his business went under and nobody wants the car... what should i do with it??? its a 50 pontiac 2 door coupe by the way.
Nobody wants it? Hmmmmm, anyways I imagine many will chime in explaining how you file a mechanics lien on the car and sell it. Get the lien and then advertise it for auction. You'll have all sorts of people there.
When you figure out the fees to add up for the storage lein, figure on $5-10/day for storage after 30 days. You'll wind up owning it with a free and clear title in your name, and then you can either sell it, fix it, or do both.
After that many years, file the proper paper work with the state and get a title for it. Just the fact that it's abandoned on your property should be enough in most states to get a title.
I guess the first thing a judge would ask you would be "why did it take you 6 years to do something about this?" What's the rest of the story?
Blue motor? pontiac, ford,buick, or chebby? if it's Poncho, throw it into the cradle, and drive the piss out of it.
In North Carolina you file a mechanics lein and in six weeks it's yours. I imagine Kansas is similar. Title it and build a nice car out of it, take a photo and sell the car. When he shows up again, give him the photo and tell him six years is too long.
well it took 6 years because it wasnt a problem up untill now that im moving my shop and my parents are taking over this building for their antique shop.. and dad doesent want a bunch of cars sitting around.... and i realy dont want cars sitting around my new shop next to my house... actually my wife doesent want them sitting around..... so thats why im gettin a 42x70 building...
Seriously? I think a mechanic's lien is the way to go, but at some point the owner does need to be notified. You can avoid a lot of hassle by spending a little bit and consulting your attorney before making a move. That way, when you've fixed up the car, or sold it and it's left, the clown who "owns" it doesn't come along suing your backside. Get an expert opinion for your state, then move on it.
When you file the lien you will make a documented effort to contact the property owner. Sending a registered letter or taking out a classified ad will usually be enough.
Yeah, Oklahoma's Title 42 requires certified attempts to contact the registered owners and all other interested parties (IE finance companies or banks), and then you can move forward onto the titling process. Either way, a mechanic's lein take precedence above any and all other leins here in OK, but other states should be similar.
I am curious myself.... Our shop has 4 cars that have been sitting for at least three years. The money owed has been written off and we have been trying to get rid of them forever as they're all bees nests in the summer. At my buddies shop they do police tows.... If they car sits for more than six months they scrap them. Most of them are junk. A few times they have some calls about the cars after they were crushed! But rarely does anyone come pick them up.