Taking ownership of abandoned car

DPRestoration

The scenario,

A person who rented an apartment for about 6 months has suddenly got up and left just before there rent is due leaving everything they own including an old '98 car. It looks in ok shape but everything is out of date, tax etc... It needs a few quid to get it going again.

My question is, instead of the council taking the car and storing it, then possibly getting it crushed, could somebody approach say the council or similar and offer to take the car and get it back on the road with out costing the council anything.

The car documents were left behind including a car key.
The owner has left the apartment about 1 month ago judging by food left in the fridge ( fairly moldy )and social welfare payment receipts left on the table and the owners have only just got into the apartment after they became suspicious that something was up.

Just to verify he has 100% abandoned everything to everyone, all bills to the likes of ESB, SKY etc... are unpaid for many months, there are solicitors letters looking for money on behalf of different companies and he has had about 50 different mobile numbers. ( That's no exageration)

He has several different names and more accounts in the banks, post offices etc.. than you could shake a stick at.

So back to the car, if anyone has an idea on the car, that would be great,

Cheers.

smash

If it's on your property you can take ownership. If it's not then I don't know what happens.

DPRestoration

The car is actually parked outside in a space available for anyone to use.

biko

Is the log book there too? For changing ownership?

alias no.9

DPRestoration wrote: »

He has several different names and more accounts in the banks, post offices etc.. than you could shake a stick at.

How then can you tell that the car was actually his in the first place?

DPRestoration

It possibly is there, there was so many letters and documents scattered around, I am going to go through most of it tomorrow.

Do you reckon it is possible just to change the ownership and be done with it.

smash

not really, it's fraud to sign someone else's signature

biko

Indeed it would be fraud to do it. You can use it to see if the name is correct etc.

DPRestoration

There is probably a lot of hassle involved in doing this, to be sure that he actually was the full out right owner I have to go through the paperwork left behind.

I wouldn't be looking to forge his name or anything, the whole thing was just a thought, I am sure the council probably don't want another car just gathering dust in there storage areas !

JHMEG

steve06 wrote: »

If it's on your property you can take ownership.

No you can not.

You either get the signiture of the owner on the VLC. The only other way assuming the owner isn't dead is to send in sworn affadavit to Shannon swearing that the car was given to you. The affadavit has to be sworn in front of a Commissioner of Oaths, and has to have been stamped by a motor dealer verifying the VIN matches the reg.

There are no squatters rights etc when it comes to cars.

mickdw

Does he owe you anything?

DPRestoration

I am not the owner but he does owe a few hundred and has left a hell of a lot of cleaning up, I would say the car is only worth a few hundred anyways.

A '98 Peugeot 406, a lot of slight body work damage, 2 flat tyre's, don't know if it even starts, it has been sitting there for a month anyways.

mickdw

I would just get that car out of the way, let council take it. Its pretty worthless anyway

Seth Brundle

DPRestoration wrote: »

I am not the owner but he does owe a few hundred and has left a hell of a lot of cleaning up, I would say the car is only worth a few hundred anyways.

A '98 Peugeot 406, a lot of slight body work damage, 2 flat tyre's, don't know if it even starts, it has been sitting there for a month anyways.

That still won't make it legal to take ownership f it!

DPRestoration

Maybe your right, just get it towed away and be done with it.

JHMEG

While it doesn't sound likely that he'll ever come back looking for it, it's still his and even getting it towed doesn't solve the issue of ownership.

ART6

I'm not sure why the council would be interested in it unless it has been notified to them as abandoned, and if it's in a private shared parking space, I wouldn't think they would be interested. Your post suggests that you might be the landlord. If you are, and he owes you money, I would think you could apply to a court to take over any assets left in the property. Whether it's worth the bother is another matter....

DPRestoration

Yeah, I will get a chance to go through all the docs tomorrow so I will see if he actually does own it, there could be all sorts of scenarios with these people and the scams there up to, and apart from the car, he owes out possibly thousands to companies in bill's which the ain't going to get now.

Add him to the potential hundreds of other people doing this and sure you can see why the country is in such a state.

ha-ya-said-what

Only way you can become the legal owner of the car is by getting the owner to sign the logbook or on the off chance issue you with a signed letter via registered post declaring that he wishes to transfer ownership of the vehicle into your name.

By having anything to do with the car where you sign the owners name to the logbook you could be done for theft, or fraud, even by been seen in the vehicle rummaging around through the stuff the owner could very well claim that you accessed the vehicle without permission and stole personal belongings from it etc, (that happends quite a lot)

Only way the vehicle can be removed is by garda or council, if ye want the car gone asap you can report it to the garda station and they should send someone around to pick it up, after which it will be held in garda storage where the owner has a certain length of time to pay release fees and storage, if not the vehicle will be disposed of

B11gt00e

The scenario described by OP about the car owner highlights a shady operator... Whatever the legalities, would you really want to take on a car owned by such a cowboy sort?!

DPRestoration

True, the car could have a bad history connected with it,
So thanks for all the advice, I think I will get it towed away.

I don't think it is worth the hassle.

CharlieCroker

I would advise you to go to your local (to the apartment) Garda station with the reg, chassis number off of the car and the VLC to see if the car is ligit. By the sound of the tenant, he was well dodgy. He may be known to them and they may have an interest in the car.
They wont answer your question about who has rights to it, but i'd still let them know

Del2005

DPRestoration wrote: »

True, the car could have a bad history connected with it,
So thanks for all the advice, I think I will get it towed away.

I don't think it is worth the hassle.

If the car is parked in an Apartmet complex you need to get onto the Management Company/Agent to move the car. You have no right to get a tow company in and the council/Gardai won't touch it.

JHMEG

ha-ya-said-what wrote: »

Only way you can become the legal owner of the car is by getting the owner to sign the logbook or on the off chance issue you with a signed letter via registered post declaring that he wishes to transfer ownership of the vehicle into your name.

No, it's log book or sworn affidavit only.

johndaman66

would have to agree with other posters general comments OP. It seems like this chap is a dodgy character from the way you describe him. Assuming you actually are able to determine if the name on the log book is actually his (you mention he had many different names) would you actually want to be associated with such a car. Chances are there is something dodgy about it also. He may have drove of from a lot of filling stations without paying for his fuel or the car might be well known to more unsavoury characters just to throw out a few of many different possible scenarios to you.

Also I don't think a badly beat up 98 Peugeot 406 is worth a whole lot on the face of it anyway.