Claiming an abandoned car
Discussion
Hello folks.
A garage I use regularly local to me has a BMW sat in their yard which the owner seems to have lost interest in. It’s a BMW Z4 coupe, so quite a rare car.
The car is an MoT failure, nothing major, but when the garage tried to contact the owner, they simply stopped communicating.
The car has been there for about 18 months, sat outside deteriorating and being unloved.
Now I know you can apply for the V5 through the DVLA, they will do due diligence with the registered keeper and as I understand it, if nothing is heard back from the owner, they will issue the V5, but this isn’t ownership as such and if the previous V5 keeper came knocking, you’d not technically be able to claim the car as your own.
Has anyone ever tried/done this, and how did you get on?
All the best,
Mark
A garage I use regularly local to me has a BMW sat in their yard which the owner seems to have lost interest in. It’s a BMW Z4 coupe, so quite a rare car.
The car is an MoT failure, nothing major, but when the garage tried to contact the owner, they simply stopped communicating.
The car has been there for about 18 months, sat outside deteriorating and being unloved.
Now I know you can apply for the V5 through the DVLA, they will do due diligence with the registered keeper and as I understand it, if nothing is heard back from the owner, they will issue the V5, but this isn’t ownership as such and if the previous V5 keeper came knocking, you’d not technically be able to claim the car as your own.
Has anyone ever tried/done this, and how did you get on?
All the best,
Mark
il-mostro said:
Hello folks.
A garage I use regularly local to me has a BMW sat in their yard which the owner seems to have lost interest in. It’s a BMW Z4 coupe, so quite a rare car.
The car is an MoT failure, nothing major, but when the garage tried to contact the owner, they simply stopped communicating.
The car has been there for about 18 months, sat outside deteriorating and being unloved.
Now I know you can apply for the V5 through the DVLA, they will do due diligence with the registered keeper and as I understand it, if nothing is heard back from the owner, they will issue the V5, but this isn’t ownership as such and if the previous V5 keeper came knocking, you’d not technically be able to claim the car as your own.
Has anyone ever tried/done this, and how did you get on?
All the best,
Mark
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...A garage I use regularly local to me has a BMW sat in their yard which the owner seems to have lost interest in. It’s a BMW Z4 coupe, so quite a rare car.
The car is an MoT failure, nothing major, but when the garage tried to contact the owner, they simply stopped communicating.
The car has been there for about 18 months, sat outside deteriorating and being unloved.
Now I know you can apply for the V5 through the DVLA, they will do due diligence with the registered keeper and as I understand it, if nothing is heard back from the owner, they will issue the V5, but this isn’t ownership as such and if the previous V5 keeper came knocking, you’d not technically be able to claim the car as your own.
Has anyone ever tried/done this, and how did you get on?
All the best,
Mark
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
etc, etc.
Chrisgr31 said:
What’s the garage going to say about you claiming it? Shouldn’t they be writing to the owner stating that £x is owed in fees, and if it’s not paid they’ll sell the car etc
I’m surprised the garage hasn’t done anything already. If it was my business I would have written to the reregistered keeper stating a daily storage charge has been applied. This could trigger the owner saying keep the car, then the garage could sell it to you. ( something like that? )If on good terms with the garage, I would discuss with them, perhaps offer to buy it off them if they close out the chasing of whatever bad debt has left it dumped on them.
I think doing that is the safest thing all round, they cover themselves by doing it by the book, with a backstop of having a definite sale to get shot of it once the situation is resolved.
I think doing that is the safest thing all round, they cover themselves by doing it by the book, with a backstop of having a definite sale to get shot of it once the situation is resolved.
You can't claim ownership as such, however there is a process by which you can give notice to the owner of goods (eg a car) that have been left on your property notice that you intend to sell or dispose of them, and then seek then if he doesn't respond or collect the goods in a reasonable timeframe. If the owner does eventually turn up afterwards he is still entitled to the process of the sale, less any costs you incurred in the process (auction fees, possible storage costs etc).
https://www.rutherfordslegal.com/how-to-dispose-of...
https://www.rutherfordslegal.com/how-to-dispose-of...
This is a PITA for alot of mechanics. No they cant sell the car without the owners agreement. If paperwork was signed before the job then it usually has a clause that parts remain property and a Lein is created against the vehicle untill bill is paid etc. This has been almost impossible to enforce in my experience.
Send them another notice to say that storage surcharges will start accruing and if they want to avoid it they can sell the car to you and stick your number on the message, but either way it needs removed.
Send them another notice to say that storage surcharges will start accruing and if they want to avoid it they can sell the car to you and stick your number on the message, but either way it needs removed.
I got a car like that. A Peugeot 205 from what I remember, not worth a lot.
It had been put into my BiL’s garage for brakes and an MOT. Both were done and the bill paid. Unfortunately it was then left in the yard for a year. The only contact the garage had went directly to answer.
He applied for the V5 and sold the car to me. Yes he/I probably broke a multitude of laws but was he expected to keep the car taking up valuable space indefinitely?
il-mostro said:
Hello folks.
A garage I use regularly local to me has a BMW sat in their yard which the owner seems to have lost interest in. It’s a BMW Z4 coupe, so quite a rare car.
The car is an MoT failure, nothing major, but when the garage tried to contact the owner, they simply stopped communicating.
The car has been there for about 18 months, sat outside deteriorating and being unloved.
Now I know you can apply for the V5 through the DVLA, they will do due diligence with the registered keeper and as I understand it, if nothing is heard back from the owner, they will issue the V5, but this isn’t ownership as such and if the previous V5 keeper came knocking, you’d not technically be able to claim the car as your own.
Has anyone ever tried/done this, and how did you get on?
All the best,
Mark
Has the garage contacted the police?A garage I use regularly local to me has a BMW sat in their yard which the owner seems to have lost interest in. It’s a BMW Z4 coupe, so quite a rare car.
The car is an MoT failure, nothing major, but when the garage tried to contact the owner, they simply stopped communicating.
The car has been there for about 18 months, sat outside deteriorating and being unloved.
Now I know you can apply for the V5 through the DVLA, they will do due diligence with the registered keeper and as I understand it, if nothing is heard back from the owner, they will issue the V5, but this isn’t ownership as such and if the previous V5 keeper came knocking, you’d not technically be able to claim the car as your own.
Has anyone ever tried/done this, and how did you get on?
All the best,
Mark
Folks generally only give mechanics a name & mobile number when booking.
If they keeled over & had no immediate family, their mobile would go to voicemail after a few days.
Z4 Coupe even with minor MoT issues is likely a £7K car, must be a reason behind the owner not collecting.
Guessing dead or prison.
Oceanrower said:
BertBert said:
To the OP, it's not yours, you have no claim to it and never will. Very simple.
No. But there’s a very good chance the garage can sell it on. This happens all the time with boats. It’s covered under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. E-bmw said:
Oceanrower said:
BertBert said:
To the OP, it's not yours, you have no claim to it and never will. Very simple.
No. But there’s a very good chance the garage can sell it on. This happens all the time with boats. It’s covered under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. Oceanrower said:
E-bmw said:
Oceanrower said:
BertBert said:
To the OP, it's not yours, you have no claim to it and never will. Very simple.
No. But there’s a very good chance the garage can sell it on. This happens all the time with boats. It’s covered under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff