Abandoned vehicle

[flatcat19]

So MONTHS ago, I buddy of mine describes some issues he is having with his '71 521.

Oil looks milky. Coolant is disappearing. We know where this is going.

So I tell him I'll help him out...

 

And now a little side details...

He owns a handful of non-driving 521's, plus 1 that does drive.

He had recently found another one that has been sitting in a field for 15+years.

Owner had a new/rebuilt motor in it. 200 miles since it was done.

He just decided he was done with it.

My friend found it, asked how much, and agreed to the man's price. 1 case of Coor's Light.

(Side note: Engine is spotless, equipped with a perfect-looking W53 to the top of it.)

 

Now back to my story...

I tell friend, go get the beer truck, bring it to my house, and you and I will swap the motors in the span of this weekend.

He says yes, and delivers me his driver.

Not having a cherry picker, and working by myself, I start disassembling things while I wait for beer truck to show up.

I wait...for 2 weeks. This was supposed to be a weekend gig.

 

Ask kid what's going on.

He says owner of beer truck travels alot, and hasn't been around.

So I suggest that I take my head (A87 peanut, ported, recently ran-thru), install it on his truck in trade for beer truck.

All I needed from his was fluids, gasket kits, filters, blah, blah, blah.

He says no problem. That deal would work. He will have the beer truck, and parts to my house by weeks end.

This was months ago.

He has shown up once. Brought me a Fel-Pro engine gasket kit(no timing cover kit) and 5 quarts of oil.

 

So he emails me on the 27th of July.

Dude, sorry. This happened, that happened. I'll be out this weekend to deliver parts.

I say you need to deliver payment first. And I will only give you to the 30th of August.

He says nothing.

 

My wife has a very strict rule of only work on one car at a time.

And I have notified this guy of that. He is hindering work getting done on my own 521.

 

So were almost to the date.

His truck is still in my driveway, and I have no idea what's up.

 

What are my options on putting a lien against this thing, and just transferring title to me due to abandonment?

Should I just tell the guy to get it the fuck out of here, disassembled?

What would you guys do?

 

I'm kind of distraught about this whole thing.

Losing a friend over $50 of parts and his lack of punctuality.

HELP!

[izzo]

A friend wouldn't put you in that situation.

 

I had something else written but edited it out... That sucks man. Tell him he's got until tomorrow or you will be parting it out, keeping what you want, and scrapping the rest. you gotta look out for yourself and your family first. Remember, happy wife happy life.

[HRH]

^^True that! Sounds like he doesn't have a pot to piss in. First thing I'd do is check the vin, make sure it's not stolen.

 

EDIT: After finding it not stolen, I'd tow it to his house, leave it there, and think nothing more of it, cut your losses.

[I'm BLUE]

Sucks !!!

 

Talk to your wife ,,, there should be an exception in this situation ,,, he might have other priorities and what not ,,,

 

but he shouldn't put you out there like that ,,, without a good reason ,,, he could be really busy blah blah blah ,,,

 

Or another reason ,,,

 

sleep on it ,,, try to contact him in a few methods let him know what's up ,,, just be smooth and careful ,,,

 

not worth losing a friend over something like this ,,, but a good friend would keep in touch so catch twenty-two :unsure:

 

 

Cooler Heags prevail man :)

[Skib]

tell him you cant have it there anymore and he needs to come get it....

 

 

........or your parking it on the street and reporting it as an abandoned vehicle.

[king bee66]

technically if you own the property and its been there for so long, the car now belongs to you. just like if a ex-roommate left you with a room full of their stuff, if they want their stuff back they owe you the overdue rent for keeping it stored. i recently helped my sister with a similar situation where a "friend" left two darts in her back yard, the guy claimed hed been trying to sell them, after about a 6 months we got a salvage title and had them hauled off for scrap

[flatcat19]

All good suggestions.

 

I have texted. Emailed. Called. Ran him down on the street.

 

Every session I do talk to him, I start with "Seems like you're just giving me this truck."

And at that he says he'll get right on it. To no avail.

 

I know the truck is not stolen.

I almost bought it before he did, and I know he paid very little for it.

With that aside, I know the worth of the truck is very little.

 

I know he has very little stopping him from doing this.

He is a student-without out a job, or the need of one.

 

He still has a couple of weeks to deliver before the deadline I set., but I really have no motivation to help him anymore.

 

I think, if it makes it that far, I'm just gonna tell him to cut his losses, sign the truck over, and move on.

 

He is actually the first Ratsuner/Datsun owner I met since I moved here.

Fuckin people.

[datzenmike]

Datsun owner..... can't afford to have one. :lol:

[DISLEXICDIME]

I would take my parts I added off . Then roll it in to the street and call him and say your truck is in the road if you don't come get it the city is going to tow it. Then if he don't come get it call the city and tell them there is a abandoned vehicl parked on your street . Then if the city don't come get you should push it in to the intersection . They will come get it trust me

[MikeRL411]

If you had a business license you could file a mechanic's lien and have the vehicle seized and the title reissued in your name. Don't know if an unlicensed mechanic can do the same under English Common Law. Phone call to your local Legal Assistance office can explain your options.

[Dirk Diggler]

I'll look into it when I get home. In the meantime, when researching issues I use www.lp.findlaw.com and cornell.com, they both have search fields you can type common phrases into (like abandoned vehicle) and it will bring up anything related. Check your local statutes also.

[flatcat19]

Push it in to the street?

You guys are funny. I live in the middle of nothing.

Doubt any one would notice if a new car showed up in the ditches.

 

Thanks for all the answers.

We'll see where this goes.

Slackers.

EDIT:Him. Not you guys.

[nismo dr]

tow it to tigard

[flatcat19]

tow it to tigard

 

Come grab it.

Save me the fenders and trim.

The rest is yours.

 

My wife told me go hide it at someone elses house, then call him and ask why he came and got his truck. He'd probably write it off. Why not just start early and give me the Damn thing?

[bananahamuck]

This happened to me so many times that now if someone says they need to store the car at my place ( for more than a very short period ) i tell them either sell it to me or..NO.

good luck ..but any real friend could never be mad for being made to be accountable..

[Z chopper]

have a set of transfer papers with you next time you see him in person and give him the option of removing the truck with in 1 hour or sign the truck over to you. or even get him to sign the papers and then if he isn't there with payment or if the truck is not gone with in 1 hour go get it registered in your name.

[nismo dr]

possession is 9/10 of the law

[FoxyRoadster]

I would check local laws before doing anything, they should have mechanics leans available there but the procedure varies state to state and its normally a lot of paperwork.

 

I know here in OK you can obtain a title for a car you've been working on but you have to place a storage lean on it and it takes a upto 6 weeks but you end up getting a valid and legal title but you have to follow the law to the t to get it done. I ended up placing such a lean on my roadster to get a title as the original one was a little wonky.

 

 

edit: those emails should be enough proof to show you was working on it for pay, payment never received.

[Draker]

Count down clock is ticking before Hardwyre chimes in with the facts.

[Hardwyre]

http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/abandoned.html

 

This is a bit of bullshit:

 

Abandoned vehicles on your property

You can’t sell a vehicle that has been abandoned on your property. You must contact a registered tow truck company to have the vehicle removed.

 

Nice way to keep the money in the pockets of a select few while putting all the work on the home owner.

[Hardwyre]

Count down clock is ticking before Hardwyre chimes in with the facts.

I must be making a name for myself. That's either a compliment or an insult. :D

 

Grade A+ Knowledge Ninja.

[d510addict]

Push it into a quarry/field and the local gun club will gladly shoot it up. If I was you id talk to the local sheriff or police dept see what they say then talk to someone who knows the law. If all your after is a few parts here and there. than it is probably not worth it to take legal action. Tow it to that dudes house or push into street and report it IMO.

[banzai510(hainz)]

typical Datsun owner.

 

Thats why I try to only deal with the hardcore guys you can count on

 

hate to loose another 521 but thats the way it is

[flatcat19]

http://www.dol.wa.go.../abandoned.html

 

This is a bit of bullshit:

 

Abandoned vehicles on your property

You can’t sell a vehicle that has been abandoned on your property. You must contact a registered tow truck company to have the vehicle removed.

 

Nice way to keep the money in the pockets of a select few while putting all the work on the home owner.

 

+1 #10

I found that info, and was questioning that.

Seems unfair to have it towed away, then try to win it at auction if it ever makes it there.

Seriously. It was taking up space on my property. MINE. Fuckin system.

 

 

typical Datsun owner.

 

Thats why I try to only deal with the hardcore guys you can count on

 

hate to loose another 521 but thats the way it is

 

WORD!

 

IF this guy picks it up, it will sit in his yard for the rest of time.

If I get it, it will live a life.

I'm not looking to part it out, just replace some parts between mine and his.

BUT-If I get it, and NismoDr. is willing to make the drive, he can have the rest to do what he wishes.

Truck will be complete, just missing half the engine.

 

Side note...saw kid driving around in his Firebird packed with friends earlier today.

[DAT510]

What we do in CA, is the owner of the property calls us, we call the local PD to VIN check, we tow it to the yard, after 72 hours a lien is put on the vehicle and the lien package is sent to the last registered owner. if they don't pick it up inside the 30 days (if valued $4000 or less) then it is ours.

there is a law about property (home acreage etc) that if it looks abandoned, one can claim it in court and if the court see's that it is indeed abandoned, they give it to the person that claimed it. this was in Texas. not sure if the same applies to vehicles and other states.