Legal Ownership of a Car

[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!