How to get the car in the right hands?

[inkey698]

Here is my situation... I'm just finishing my last year of high school and am intrested in automotive repair. Right after high school I'm planning to attend a near by technical collage to learn how to repair vehicles. My girlfriend's mother has a Austin Healy under her name but it is being kept at her x-husbands place. The Austin is in good restorable condition but needs a lot of work. It needs a rebuilt engine and new interior (I'm not sure if that's a lot of work or not quite yet). My girlfriends mother is more than willing to sign the car over to me to use as a project car and restore but her x-husband is under the impression that it's his car and will not hand it over. I tried telling him that I would buy it from him and he still refused.

My question to all who are reading this posting is what are the necesary steps to get the car in the right hands (mine)?

I'm tired of seeing such a beautiful car rot away.

Thanx for your time.

[inkey698]

I see no one wants to help me. I'm thinking about calling or going down to the police station to talk to an officer about this issue. I elieve that it would be a good start.

[curtis73]

Originally Posted by inkey698

I see no one wants to help me. .

Hey, don't be a dick about it. Next time, try posting more necessary information, like what country and state you live in, if the car is movable, salvage, scrap, does it have a title, was it purchased in this country... etc. The answer for Ontario, Canada is incredibly different that Louisiana, USA.

Every state is different, but the general principle is the same. Whoever holds the title is the owner, period. If there is no title its a bit of a grey area, but basically you can file with a court of common pleas (or whatever its called in your state/province) to declare an abandoned vehicle. At this point you would need to provide proof that you had adequately attempted to notify the owner that he/she had 90 days (or whatever the limitation is for your state) to claim and move the vehicle. At that point it gets really hairy. Depending on the state, sometimes you have to sue for ownership based on "storage fees" or something else. Some states require you to move the vehicle from the property to your property for X number of days as a waiting period for the current owner to claim it.

If the vehicle is untitled in some states then you both basically entered into a dispute where the winner will be awarded the car. You basically would have to take the x hubby to court and if a judge sees that its stored at her house and you are the x-daughter's high school boyfriend, he would never award ownership to you. If its untitled and your state allows this, you can just file without him knowing about it, but they research it pretty hard before randomly awarding you a title. I have a 1965 Scout that was abandoned for 23 years, the owner was dead, he had sold the Scout along with the land, but I had to produce a death certificate for a guy who died when I was 8 years old and go to a court hearing for a car that hadn't been registered or on the road since 1981. Its not pretty, but it can be done.

Just make it easy on yourself. You have two incredible resources at your disposal. Your state's website. Search the vehicle code for "abandoned vehicle" and see what turns up. Then, go to a AAA office and buy a $45 membership if you haven't already. That $45 gets you every shred of infomation you'll need to get started, plus all the Notary and legal/DOT/DMV paperwork for free. It is a resource that I have had in my pocket since I turned 16.

Make sure you have the proper information lined up. Even if you don't know things like if there is a title or not, you'll need to get information based on all of the possibilities of the situation.

Do not involve the police yet until you have all your ducks in a row. Its like calling the cops over to help you when you have drugs in your pocket. You'll get busted. They're going to file paperwork and get balls rolling that you might not want yet with this car. If they come over, write down the VIN, and say that they'll contact the owner, now you have an x hubby who is wise to your plan and he'll be over there with a tow truck in five minutes. Then you are absolutely done.

[inkey698]

Thanks for the very useful information. Sorry i didn't give much information. I came to the decision that I'm not willing to fight for the car. Yes, it would be nice to get it running and restored but this guy won't give up with out a big fight. I'll be getting a car the needs work at the auction just as soon as I have the money. Thanks for your time and wisdom.

[curtis73]

No problem, inkey. Let us know if you do get it though! Best of luck