Legal Ownership of a Car

[Hylton]

The recent Olds post brought up some very interesting debate as to the ownership of a car given one person owns the Title and another person has posession of the physical car.

This is the situation I currently face as I had a car stored in New York and someone decided to "help themselves" to it. When I went to get it, nobody knew what happened to it and played stupid. I was so shocked that people would be so brazen that I just turned around and left. This was two years ago. I did not call the cops because it was in a small town and well, you know how that goes.

If I find the car, could I actually legally take it even if someone managed to get it re-titled in New York? My Title was a California Title and I still have it in my name. What should I do?

[njsteve]

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This was two years ago. I did not call the cops because it was in a small town and well, you know how that goes.

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What is that supposed to mean? You may have pretty much lost the car forever based on your lack of action due to the passage of time and the statute of limitations. I would contact a lawyer immediately and ask him to persue the matter.

[Hylton]

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You may have pretty much lost the car forever based on your lack of action due to the passage of time and the statute of limitations.

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So if I "find" a car and nobody says anything for two years, I get to legally keep it?

[Camaroinaz]

I believe here in AZ that there is something regarding abondoned vehicles. If the vehicle sits long enough, someone can file a claim with the DMV. The DMV will run a search for the last registered owner and see if they can locate them. If the owner can not be located, there is a process that the person can go through to title the vehicle in their name. A friend did this on a Ford truck that was on a piece of property his family bought. When no one claimed the vehicle, he was able to take ownership. Later found out the truck had a Cobra Jet motor in it.

[njsteve]

Exactly. Same thing hapened to me about 25 years ago. My neighbors moved out and abandoned their 72 Vega in front of my house (along with a 6-foot tall marijuana plant on their back porch...and to think, this guy was a minister!) It sat there for 8 months after they moved away and I finally contacted motor vehicle and they recommended that I apply for ownership as an abandoned vehicle and keep it, otherwise I would have to pay for someone to tow it away from my property. I did and ended up getting full legal title to the car in about two weeks.

It worked out well because I later traded it for a 1971 Cuda Convertible!

[Rick H]

During that 2 year time frame were you ever in contact with the person that had possession or figured that since you held the title you didn't need too? As mentioned, abandoned vehicle laws come into play.

What year car was it? Anything prior to 1972 doesn't need a title and can be registered very easily. If it is reregistered it now belongs to the present holder.

Basically what the NY State law says is if the vehicle is older then 1972 and there are no numbered plates on the car when abandoned, ownership can be acquired through another form.

Rick H

[Donutblue]

I would definetly go back to the Town or City in NY where your car was stored and report the Grand Larceny Auto to the local or State Police. Make sure you have the proper paper work to show ownership of the car. Depending on the circumstances ( I don't know the complete story here) the Police may very well entertain the complaint and place the VIN number and car description in NCIC. Heck, it may even be registered to a new owner now. The statue of limitations in NY on Grand Larceny is 5 years. --- Possession of stolen property is a "on-going crime" (no statue). ---Good luck

[Charley Lillard]

"I was so shocked that people would be so brazen that I just turned around and left"....... Someone stole your car and you were so shocked you did nothing about it ? That makes no sense. Did you know these people ? Seems like there is more to the story.

[Hylton]

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"I was so shocked that people would be so brazen that I just turned around and left"....... Someone stole your car and you were so shocked you did nothing about it ? That makes no sense. Did you know these people ? Seems like there is more to the story.

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No nothing more. Car was worth about 4 grand and I was paying the place for storage. Storage fees were up to date. What I figured would have happened is that the local police would have said it's a civil matter and then I would spend 7k in legal fees to get a 4k car back. I am in Canada and when you look at the time away from work, legal fees, traveling costs, etc to settle this matter, would you pursue it?

[Donutblue]

registered letter to the storage place looking for an answer as to where your car is would be a good start. A phone call to the local PD afterwards. For the car to have been titled in NY some papers would have to be forged to get a title. Seems win win to me, unless you have no problem losing 4 grand plus all the fees you paid.