Abandoned vehicles

[ZorsT]

There is a vehicle that has been abandoned near my house. I've talked to my neighbour (a cop) about it, and he confirmed that it has been abandoned. How would I go about gaining ownership of said vehicle?
Should I go see the local council?
Contact the registered owner? (I have the rego number)

Cheers

[marty]

what did the cop say?

[ZorsT]

He said that as far as the police are concerned, the vehicle has been abandoned. I wasn't able to ask any more questions about it at the time, and he has since gone on holiday.

[nigelp]

You need to go to your local Council who will collect the vehicle (a towie wil do this) and it will be taken to impoud yard. From there Council will advertise it twice (about a month aparrt) and then sell it through public tender. They will basically take whatever they can get. When they advertise it they show who the legal owner is (if it has plates) and where they live. Takes a while if you are wanting to "acquire" it yourself.

[Steam]

Call the owner and ask him if you can have it. Otherwise the council gets it, and they sell it at auction or junk it as appropriate. In Dunedin otherwise. Apparently it costs councils heaps, tens of thousands of dollars per year, to get rid of old abandoned cars, so they may be happy to hear from you.

[James Deuce]

Before you ring the council, check that they aren't going to charge you to remove the car.

Word to the wise.

[Timber020]

Get a bunch of cats and a sleeping bag, move into it with them. Bark at people as they walk by. In no time people will say that its your car and you living rent free!


Next week-getting people to like you with nothing more than some beer and a funny taste in your mouth.

[marty]

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1974
[PART 21 - ROADS (OTHER THAN REGIONAL ROADS), SERVICE LANES, AND ACCESS WAYS
Safety provisions as to roads
[356. Removal of abandoned vehicles from roads—



[356.Removal of abandoned vehicles from roads—








(1)This section applies where any category A or category B or category C motor vehicle is found on a road within the district of any council and appears to have been abandoned by its owner.





(2)In the case of a category A or category B vehicle, the following provisions shall apply:





(a)The council may authorise any person to remove the vehicle and store it:





(b)No person authorised by the council shall remove the vehicle until a member of the Police has been notified of the proposal to move it:





(c)The council shall make reasonable efforts to give notice to the last registered owner of the vehicle of its intention to sell the vehicle, and those efforts shall include,—





(i)In the case of a category A vehicle, taking practical steps to identify the owner of the vehicle by reference to chassis numbers or other numbers appearing on the vehicle:





(ii)In the case of a category B vehicle, identifying the owner of the vehicle by reference to such numbers and by searching the motor vehicle security register or otherwise:





(d)After making reasonable efforts to give notice under paragraph (c) of this subsection, the council may give not less than 10 working days' notice, by advertisement in 2 issues of a daily newspaper circulating in the district in which the road is situated, of its intention to sell the vehicle, but if the council is satisfied that the condition of the vehicle is such that it is of little or no value, it may dispense with the giving of such notice:





(e)At any time after the expiration of a notice given in accordance with paragraph (d) of this subsection or at any time after the giving of such notice has been dispensed with under that paragraph, the council may sell or otherwise dispose of the vehicle to any person or otherwise dispose of the vehicle in such manner as the council thinks fit, and any person to whom such a vehicle is sold or disposed of shall thereupon become the lawful owner of the vehicle:





(f)The advertisement under paragraph (d) of this subsection shall specify the following:





(i)A description of the make, model, and colour of the vehicle:





(ii)The chassis numbers and any other vehicle numbers (if known):





(iii)The location from which the vehicle was removed:





(g)The proceeds of any such sale shall be applied in payment of the costs and charges attending the sale, including the advertisement under paragraph (d) of this subsection, and of the expenses of the removal and storage of the motor vehicle, and the residue, if any, shall be payable to the former owner of the vehicle:





(h)Where any motor vehicle is removed by the council under this subsection, the owner shall be liable to pay to the council all expenses incurred by the council in removing and storing the vehicle, and, where the vehicle is claimed by the owner and not sold or otherwise disposed of pursuant to this subsection, those expenses shall be payable before the owner takes delivery of the vehicle.





(3)In the case of a category C vehicle, the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall apply with the following modifications:





(a)The notice specified in paragraph (d) of that subsection shall not be given unless the vehicle has been stored for a period of 1 month and reasonable efforts to locate the last registered owner have been made by the council:





(b)In addition to specifying the matters set out in paragraph (f) of that subsection, the notice shall specify the name of the current registered owner and the last known address of that person:





(c)Paragraph (c) of that subsection shall apply as if the vehicle were a category B vehicle.





(4)If, after a search of the motor vehicle security register in accordance with subsection (2)(c)(ii) or subsection (3)(c) of this section, it is found that the vehicle is subject to a registered security interest, the council shall, before selling or otherwise disposing of the vehicle, notify the holder of that interest of its intention to sell or otherwise dispose of the vehicle.





(5)For the purposes of this section,—





(a)A category A vehicle is a motor vehicle that has neither a number plate nor a current licence label affixed to the vehicle:





(b)A category B vehicle is a motor vehicle that has affixed to it either a number plate or a current licence label (but not both):





(c)A category C vehicle is a motor vehicle that has affixed to it either—





(i)A number plate and a current licence label; or





(ii)A number plate and a licence label that expired not more than 6 months before the council took possession of the vehicle.





(6)For the purposes of this section, ``council'', in relation to a State highway that is under the control of Transit New Zealand, means Transit New Zealand.





(7)Nothing in this section limits or affects anything in section 239 of the Public Works Act 1981.]

[marty]

of course you could bypass all of this by simply contacting the registered owner, ascertaining that they are actually the current owner, and entering into an agreement to take possession of the car. get it in writing - stating that they are the current owner and that they are transferring ownership to you.

[sAsLEX]

I know a guy once in a similar situation cept he had jsut rolled his car a few times and needed a new shell........ asked around about the abandoned car the same as his sitting behind the local dairy no one wanted it and they told him to take it, first week of leave he swapped everything I mean everything from the rolled car to the new one and whammo a new car!

[ZorsT]

cheers for the replies guys, i'll try to get into contact with the owner

[Motu]

And make sure there is no money owing on the car...or you'll end up in the situation I'm in.I had a customer give me his car,and a few months later I decided to make it a runner.Then I rang him to get him to come down and change the ownership - that's when he told me he had finance on it.This is a crappy NX Coupe,worth $800 on a wet day - and I find he owes $4000 on it! I know he only paid about $1500 for it privately off a friend,so he's done some sort of scam.He has stopped his payments months ago,but it's not listed as having a debt over it and there are no plans to reposess as the finance company is in ChCh.But I can't put the car in my name,so I register it in his name and drive it like I stole it.If it disapears one day I don't care,I've had 8 months use of it so now it owes me nothing.