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Abandoned Car, no log book.
alister667 - 4/12/06 at 06:36 PM

OK bear with me on this one! I'm not even sure if it's in the right forum (apologies in advance Chris)!

Anyhow, a friend has an apartment in the centre of Belfast and there has been a car abandoned in the resident's parking area for about 6-7 years. Apparently the owner left in a hurry (with the police after him!) a few years ago and has not been back.

At this stage the residents just want the car towed away and scrapped off as it's wasting (an expensive) car parking space. My mate has offered it to me if I'm interested and will tow it away.

What suggestions do you have for claiming ownership of an abandoned car? Should I do a check to see if it has finance outstanding on it, or if it's been stolen? Can this be done?

The other option is to turn it into a track only car but I fancy making it road legal.

The car? Well that's a Porsche 924. Not everyday your mate gives you a Porsche is it!!

JoelP - 4/12/06 at 06:43 PM

if it was me, i would send off to the dvla for the logbook (£19). If it comes back with no problems, proceed as if it was yours. If i was your mate, id drag it off one night just to clear space.

Hellfire - 4/12/06 at 06:52 PM

Mmmm that's a difficult one. I seriously doubt that you could take ownership of the vehicle, unless you can find the owner and convince them to sell it you. The police will only be interested if it has been stolen or is illegally parked in a public place otherwise it's a case for the local council (at least here in England).

If someone reports the car to the local council, they will check the details with DVLA records and stick a 7 day notice on it for the owner to remove the vehicle, otherwise it is collected and scrapped by the council.

Phil

arrybradbury - 4/12/06 at 07:00 PM

There's been one in my uni carpark for ages aswell - an alfa 156 V6 which is slowly getting vandalised......! It was there when i got to uni in my first year, 18 months on it's still in the same place!!

t.j. - 4/12/06 at 07:18 PM

Try to get the right papers.

Here you have to fill in a form.
Than the last registered owner has .. days to react. If non, it's yours.

thunderace - 4/12/06 at 07:20 PM

is the flat he stayed in empty as he may be in jail.

alister667 - 4/12/06 at 07:23 PM

I'm thinking at the minute if I can get the chassis number, and it's not registered as stolen or with outstanding finance I can contact the DVLNI about getting a new V5. I don't even know if I can get keys to get the bonnet open mind you!!
The great thing about this car is it's been in a dry underground carpark for 7 odd years, I've only seen photos, but the bodywork should be in very good condition.

alister667 - 4/12/06 at 07:24 PM

No, the flat is now occupied, and the residents committee want it shifted ASAP.

Guinness - 4/12/06 at 07:26 PM

I tried this a while back with a classic MG that was abandoned for 4 months and was getting slowly trashed.

Basically, as said you apply to the DVLA for the V5 reg docs, for about £20 and they have a set period to refute your claim.

If they realise and respond in time they keep the car reg in their name. If they don't it gets registered to you.

But, the registered keeper isn't always the legal owner, so it may come back to haunt you.

Best of luck.

Mike

Hellfire - 4/12/06 at 07:27 PM

If that's the case, I'd go with Joels suggestion.

Phil

alister667 - 4/12/06 at 07:38 PM

I think if the worst comes to the worst it could be used as a track only car, never have to worry about registering it at all...
Only problem is my 'other' car is quicker than my Porsche!!



Thanks for the advice

Ali

rusty nuts - 4/12/06 at 07:49 PM

As it is parked in a private car park it MAY be possible for the residents association to charge for the parking, if the fee is not paid then the car could possibly be sold/disposed of to pay the fee? This is the case if a car is taken to a garage for repair ,so may apply for storage?

t.j. - 4/12/06 at 08:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by alister667
I think if the worst comes to the worst it could be used as a track only car, never have to worry about registering it at all...
Only problem is my 'other' car is quicker than my Porsche!!



Thanks for the advice

Ali



Faster

So what where you saying? Where do you live?

alister667 - 4/12/06 at 09:30 PM

quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
As it is parked in a private car park it MAY be possible for the residents association to charge for the parking, if the fee is not paid then the car could possibly be sold/disposed of to pay the fee? This is the case if a car is taken to a garage for repair ,so may apply for storage?


I called down this evening and was talking to two members of the residents committee - they just want rid of it, it's taking up space and although parking is strictly for residents only (yer man sold his apartment a few years ago apparently) it's sitting there gathering dust and stopping one of the residents from parking there.

As for the car itself - it's a 924 Turbo, 40k miles on the clock the bodywork is immaculate, original Porsche alloys - it's a minter! Last tax disk was in 1996. I'm ringing the DVLNI in the morning!!

[Edited on 4/12/06 by alister667]

SeaBass - 4/12/06 at 09:48 PM

Quite a funky machine...



I'd be wary of trying to claim someones car who disappeared with the fuzz after them though...

Have you checked the boot? In fact how are you going to get in to the thing and remove it? New set of lock barrels from Porsche?

Cheers

higgsti - 4/12/06 at 09:52 PM

on private land the council wont have anything to do with it.send off for log book as said above.924 is a cracking car i had one me and 3 mates kept up with 2 different saphire cossies in the wet at anglesey.they handle like a severn Rescued attachment IMG_0381.jpg
Rescued attachment IMG_0381.jpg

alister667 - 4/12/06 at 10:23 PM

quote:
Originally posted by SeaBass
Quite a funky machine...


I'd be wary of trying to claim someones car who disappeared with the fuzz after them though...

Have you checked the boot? In fact how are you going to get in to the thing and remove it? New set of lock barrels from Porsche?

Cheers



I'm not sure about how to get into it, I had a quick go with a coat hanger tonight with no luck. The doors are locked and the boot is a key only affair. If the worst comes to the worst then new barrels / keys from Porsche it is! I can maybe take out a side windscreen to get in.

To get it up on the trailer I was thinking of a winch and rollers of some kind, maybe a trolley jack if stuck.

I'm hoping they're long gone at this stage as it's been in that carpark for about 10 years, unmoved for 7. Last taxed 1996. Fingers crossed!

The only down side is the colour. It is sh1t brown!! With about an inch of dust covering it! And the interior is about as tasteful as an Australian lottery winner ;-)

[Edited on 4/12/06 by alister667]

[Edited on 4/12/06 by alister667]

jambojeef - 4/12/06 at 11:37 PM

What makes you think its a 924 turbo?

Looks like a normally aspirated 924 to me?

Geoff

Mr G - 5/12/06 at 12:35 AM

There is/was a long running thread concerning a fellow who got hold of an escort cosworth in this very manner over at passionford.com.

Applied for and recieved the logbook etc. Only problem was when he went to trailer it away from the land it was on someone had already had it away and dumped it after a light accident. As the car was now in his name the boys in blue knocked on his door. He ended up paying the storage charges for the police compound/recovery but got the car back for keeps.

To be honest i'm amazed that this procedure is possible but it seems as long as you go about it the right way you can obtain vehicles in this manner!


Cheers

G

James - 5/12/06 at 10:48 AM

what is it they say these days? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Well you're onto step 2 so good on you!

Go for it, lets hope DVLNI are helpful.

Goog luck,
James

andyps - 5/12/06 at 05:40 PM

You can get a logbook - probably quite easily given what you have said about the car (watch out for past dues on SORN though!) but that does not necessarily make you the legal owner.

Someone I know who runs a garage had a car left with him for many months with an unpaid bill. Despite his requests the owner never came to collect it so in the end he applied for a registration document which he got without a problem so he started using the car. Apparently there was a dispute between two other people about who the legal owner was but I guess it hasn't been resolved as the garage owner is still using the car. It is worth about 100 times the value of the outstanding bill incidentally - but the storage charge has got pretty high!!

rusty nuts - 5/12/06 at 07:25 PM

Ref the keys, Door handle looks very much like VW Golf mk2 items . A lot of 924 parts came from the VW range . With a bit of care you should be able to cut the door handle through just between the locking barrel and the rear of the handle , they are only made from Mazak or similar. If it has a removable trim in the handle take it off and it may have a screw near the front . This should get the handle off and make it simple to open door New Gold handles are not too dear from German & Swedish, Euro car parts etc. It may be possible to get a key cut by a decent locksmith using the handle and IF you are lucky it may fit the ignition and the boot.

Peteff - 5/12/06 at 08:16 PM

If it was off road before sorn came in it will not need it till it is retaxed. Lump hammer through the door window gets you in, breaker or salvage yard will have windows in Steel packing band with a bend on the end is good for getting down the window seals if you can hook the door operating lever or the yellow polythene stuff doubled up to pull a button up via the door seal if you hook it round from an angle.

alister667 - 5/12/06 at 11:52 PM

OK to keep you updated!

I rang the DVLNI this morning, I explained the situation honestly and can report I am entirely free to apply for a log book.
However that does not grant me ownership and there could possibly be a dispute about that if the original owner showed up.
The car is not registered as stolen, and the helpful woman at the DVLNI thinks the current keepers address is no longer valid due to the building in the address being knocked down!!
I have some more detective work to do, and I've asked her to forward on the docs needed to apply for the log book.
I;ve talked to a couple of Locost mates and they're willing to give me a hand getting the thing onto a trailer!
It's all looking do-able so far!

Thanks again for all the help,

Ali

alister667 - 6/12/06 at 12:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
If it was off road before sorn came in it will not need it till it is retaxed. Lump hammer through the door window gets you in, breaker or salvage yard will have windows in Steel packing band with a bend on the end is good for getting down the window seals if you can hook the door operating lever or the yellow polythene stuff doubled up to pull a button up via the door seal if you hook it round from an angle.


For God's sake Pete, keep your voice down or everyone will know how to break into my Porsche!!!

gazza285 - 6/12/06 at 05:20 AM

quote:
Originally posted by alister667

For God's sake Pete, keep your voice down or everyone will know how to break into my Porsche!!!



MY Porsche? That didn't take long.

MG David - 6/12/06 at 09:13 AM

If the front wheels are straight and you can line the trailer up in front of it all you need to do is undo or cut the hand brake cable. Then once you have it home you can work on getting in at your leasure.

alister667 - 12/12/06 at 10:41 PM

*UPDATE*

OK I've got the nod from the residents committee! Looks like it's on. I need a letter from them (due this week) then I arrange to get in there and get it trailered away.

Should have something to work on over the Christmas break!!

Cheers

Ali