Claiming Abandoned Cars, Anyone Done It?

[Alastairh 47]

Hello,

 

The neighbour of my mum’s sold their house a few months back and apparently emigrated. But they have left an E39 52 plate BMW sport parked up unloved on the road without tax, grass growing up it etc. Because it has been parked for 3 months it is now getting attention.

 

Anyone managed to claim a car from a similar situation. I will call the council / dvla tomorrow, but I am particularly wary about disclosing the location only for them to take it away and to be crushed.

 

Old timers might remember a similar thread with Dino and an Alfa which I will point in the direction of this thread.

 

Al

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

Good thread on passion ford about this sort of thing with an Escos I think it was. Whether it was true or not I have no idea.

 

If you report it to the police they will contact the registered keeper.

 

Was a Saxo Vts parked along a road I used to frequent. I passed it while a bloke was under the bonnet fiddling. For weeks afterwards it was left abandoned. It was reported to the police and they contacted the owner who had sold it to the guy I saw. It broke down on him on his way home so he dumped it there. The police took it away not long after the call was put in.

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

I think if you notify the dvla and notify the police, they will try and contact the previous keeper, and if they have no luck after a certain period of time the car can be 'claimed'

 

backed up by this I found on yahoo answers::

Yes, if you stick to the following procedure:

 

Transport the vehicle to a safe place, on private land.

 

Inform the police that you have done so, giving your name, address and phone number, the registration number and V.I.N. of the vehicle, and the current location of the vehicle.

 

Contact the D.V.L.A. with the same information.

 

(The police and the D.V.L.A. will then attempt to find the registered keeper).

 

If the registered keeper cannot be traced after 30 days, you can legally apply for a V5 in your own name.

Edited June 10, 2012 by johnnyboy666

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

That would leave you with the risk of being prosecuted for TWOCing surely?

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

thats the purpose of notifying police, I'm not sure what the legalities are regarding moving the vehicle, but if its just over the road you could argue that you've moved it out of the way if its parked on the road. or notify the police after youve moved it and say thats where they left it

 

just to add, being the registered keeper is different to being the legal owner so theres a bit of a grey area in there to make it more difficult

Edited June 10, 2012 by johnnyboy666

[feb 47]

I remember a thread about Dino doing something similar , he managed to get a V5 in his hands but I think in the end he gave it back to the original owner?

[Baz 421]

Done it a few times, get a V62, fill it in, send it off and in the meantime speak to the relevant people as you're suggesting. From the V62 DVLA will contact the previous owners if they can and find out if there's any reason why not, if they can't get hold of anyone in something like 6 weeks & there's no discrepancies they'll issue you a V5.

[dale205mills 39 7 Cars]

Done it a few times, get a V62, fill it in, send it off and in the meantime speak to the relevant people as you're suggesting. From the V62 DVLA will contact the previous owners if they can and find out if there's any reason why not, if they can't get hold of anyone in something like 6 weeks & there's no discrepancies they'll issue you a V5.

 

I agree with BAZ there as I have brought and picked up a few 205's like that and sent a v62 off and I have got a v5 back after a few weeks, never hand any problems but we all take risks every time we walk out are front doors and life is to short to worry really but just be prepared for a knock on the door if the people come back and see the car all shiny on your drive way but then is it really worth the grieve on both sides to argue over it.

[Terry1600 14]

if i was the original owner and i did come back id rather it be moved off the main road onto someone's drive rather than suffer vandalism from the scummy kids.

[maxi 36 1 Cars]

I remember when Dino did this with some alfa near to him. Once he had the v5 in his name (not sure if he had taken the vehicle), it turned out it belonged to a bit of an unsavoury charachter who, upon being released from prison, wasnt to happy to find his alfa had been adopted......

 

I think throttle response saved the day in the end?

 

Maxi

[GLPoomobile 958]

I think throttle response saved the day in the end?

 

As in, Dino responding to being throttled by an ex-con? What Alfa was it? And on another note, did he ever find that 205 that he forgot where he'd parked it?

[MiniGibbo 142]

Scribble out a recipt from the old owners and apply for a new logbook for it..

 

"finders keepers"

[Baz 421]

And on another note, did he ever find that 205 that he forgot where he'd parked it?

 

That wasn't Dino!

 

Scribble out a recipt from the old owners and apply for a new logbook for it..

 

"finders keepers"

 

You don't need to.

[MiniGibbo 142]

Didnt think you could claim for a new log book without proof of purchase..?

 

That means for exmaple i could take note of your reg and apply for another copy in my name..???

Edited June 11, 2012 by MiniGibbo

[BlueBolt 156]

They've started sending letters out to the previous owner even when the v5 is completed... I've had 3 through recently fr cars I sold, letter just says "you recently sold a car, is this correct" or words to that effect...

If you forget to send off the v5 and the new owner applies for the logbook then you get a moody letter saying something along the lines of "someone has applied for a v5 why didn't you send it off you pleb!!??"

Lol

[GLPoomobile 958]

That wasn't Dino!

 

We might be thinking of different scenarios. I'm sure I remember Dino saying on here that he'd forgotten where he'd parked a 205 before he went to the states, and couldn't remember where it was months later.

Edited June 11, 2012 by GLPoomobile

[Anthony 1,003]

That was Dom, not Dino

[Para 82 2 Cars]

 

Transport the vehicle to a safe place, on private land.

 

Inform the police that you have done so, giving your name, address and phone number, the registration number and V.I.N. of the vehicle, and the current location of the vehicle.

 

 

 

Are you sure this is the right way of doing this ? How can you transport someone else car to your location ? How can you be certain the car is abandoned ? Is the law in UK really works like this ?

[Baz 421]

Didnt think you could claim for a new log book without proof of purchase..?

 

That means for exmaple i could take note of your reg and apply for another copy in my name..???

 

Of course you can, you don't have to send any proof of purchase when applying for a logbook, as you said yourself iirc earlier in the thread, a V5 is not proof of ownership so irrelevant.

 

You can, if you have ALL the relevant details, not just the reg., & it certainly doesn't mean you will get a V5 though, as i've already said if you bothered to read, the DVLA will issue you a log book IF there's no discrepancies with your application. If relevant, ie the car has been recently been in active use/taxed/sorned etc and they have details on file, they may well write to the listed owner asking if this is ok.

Edited June 11, 2012 by Baz

[Baz 421]

Are you sure this is the right way of doing this ? How can you transport someone else car to your location ? How can you be certain the car is abandoned ? Is the law in UK really works like this ?

 

No it isn't, i'd seek the local constabulary's permission to do this first, otherwise the same as TWOCing and you might find yourself in posession of a stolen vehicle or one that's used in conjunction with a crime and put yourself in even more sh!t.

[MiniGibbo 142]

All this head scratching and the owner will probably tell the op to jog on lol..

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

Didnt think you could claim for a new log book without proof of purchase..?

 

That means for exmaple i could take note of your reg and apply for another copy in my name..???

 

I think there's a bit of a muddle here over how people go about claiming.

 

If you had the V5C in your hand, you can fill in your name, send it off and the only thing the 'owner' would know about it is a 'Thanks for informing us you are no longer the registered keeper' letter.

 

Then there is the Blue A4 V62 form available for the PO and probably even online now. You fill all of that in when your in the OP's situation or when you haven't had a log book back after purchasing a car. The DVLA will then write to the person who on their system is the registered keeper to check that the person who has requested it, is entitled to it. If they don't hear back, then after a certain period the repsonsibility is passed on to you. That is effectively what it is, as far as the DVLA is concerned, you are now responsible for the vehicle.

 

I am unsure how the actual legal ownership comes in to it. Yes you are then the registered keeper and liable, but not sure how it would stand up if in time the person who legally owned it came back and said they wanted it back.

 

As stated and worth remembering - A V5C is not proof of ownership.

[Batfink 201]

I have a car sitting in my unit that was abandoned outside for 5 years.

From what I have found, I will have to request the owner details from the DVLA. I then have to contact the owner at the last registered address. If they do not respond then I will have made enough of an effort to be able to claim ownership as well as the V5

Obviously I am lucky that I stopped the car from being crushed and am able to charge the owner for storage...

 

Basically you have to be able to prove you made a reasonable effort to track the owner down.

Edited June 11, 2012 by Batfink

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

^ Thief

[kyepan 291]

there is also a thread about this on piston heads that i read over the weekend. V5 means you are the registered keeper, not the owner. Bear that in mind.

 

Cheers

J