Understanding the Abandoned Vehicle Question
Countless individuals wonder whether they can file for an abandoned vehicle and obtain ownership of a car they discovered somewhere. Can they secure a title using an abandoned vehicle claim? Let’s examine this process. An abandoned vehicle definition is crucial to understand what it encompasses – it’s typically a vehicle that has simply been left somewhere with no known origin story and doesn’t truly belong to anyone. We’re going to examine three different states, how they qualify abandoned vehicles, how they define it, and what you can and cannot do with them.
Federal Law Guidelines for States
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 federal law. The federal law tells the states this is how you’re supposed to handle abandoned vehicles, so every state uses that guideline when they create their own rules. The other thing you’ll discover is that if you are wanting to be the owner of a vehicle, if your instinct is to say hey let’s pursue abandoned vehicle status, that’s probably not going to work and we’ll discuss why not. However, there is something that will work ninety-something percent of the time and we’ll discuss that at the end.
Pennsylvania’s Approach to Abandoned Vehicles
First one we’re going to examine is Pennsylvania fact sheet on disposal of abandoned vehicles. Notice it uses the word disposal, not claiming. 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 means an intention to abandon 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.
The Owner Relinquishment Issue
You notice it says to which an owner has relinquished, not the owner. So if you have a vehicle that’s in your driveway and you say I’m going to declare this vehicle is abandoned, if you say it’s abandoned you are an owner that’s relinquishing all rights. You’re not the owner, you might be a possible owner. So if you say it’s abandoned, you abandon it too – you’re relinquishing rights with no intention of reclaiming.
Private Property Definition Requirements
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 yes, 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 come get it? Did you say bring it here, I’ll fix your transmission and then you can pick it up? That was with consent. Did you buy it from somebody on Craigslist 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.
Methods of Vehicle Disposal
So what can you do with this? Here are 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 salvage yard. So basically you call the police, they either tow it to a junkyard or the junkyard comes and tows it. That’s probably not what you want to do.
Storage and Legal Action Options
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 formally sue in common pleas court requesting that an order be entered that awards ownership of the vehicle. That probably sounds like what’s on your mind, 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. Here’s a sneak peek of our website cartitles.com – what is a court order title? Court order title gives you more information, we’ll discuss that momentarily.
Storage Facility Requirements
So 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 pleas – gets back to the same destination: court order title. Remember that, that’s going to be a theme we’ll see that again.
Texas Abandoned Vehicle Laws
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 it removed by the police. If you are a licensed storage facility, you can charge fees. 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. We’ll click on one of these laws here to see what the law says.
Garage Keeper Reporting Requirements
First thing you have to do, you have to file a notice to the police. Garage keeper duty for an abandoned motor vehicle – the garage keeper shall report the abandonment to a law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the vehicle is located and pay a ten-dollar fee to make notices. A garage keeper who fails to report within seven 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, won’t let you keep it.
California’s Private Party Restrictions
Last one we’ll look at is California. California DMV states private parties are not legally able to use the vehicle lien sale, which is the abandoned process, unless they are lawfully in the business of providing repairs or towing. Lawfully in the business means you have a license from the state to be a licensed vehicle repair shop or automotive repair shop. Private property owners may have a vehicle removed when the vehicle’s abandoned, and the tow company can sell it off. So all you can do as a private property owner, not a licensed business, is have the car towed away, which is probably not what you want to do.
Court Order Title Authority
Gets back to the same thing – court order title. What is that? You got to remember all of these processes – abandoned vehicles, mechanic’s lien, storage lien, garage holder’s lien – 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.
The Court Override Process
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 but 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.
Critical Warning About Abandonment Claims
The most important thing is don’t declare a vehicle to be abandoned. Once you call it abandoned, you can’t undo that statement. Now it’s in the system as abandoned, and ninety-five percent 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 twenty-dollar 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.
Abandonment vs. Court Petition
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 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 that at cartitles.com. 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.
