Whats the situation and process here? A car near me hasn't moved in ages and I think it has been abandoned. Its on private property and has a few notes left on it and flat tyres, dust and the usual. I would hate to see it go to waste. Anybody have any experience with this or know what process to follow? Last time it was M.O.T'd was 2008 and is currently sorn'd
Abandoned cars are complicated. If there is no tax then its DVLA's responsibility. If there is no insurance then it is a police matter. Otherwise if it has clearly been abandoned and is an eyesore then the "Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005" covers this and gives local authorities power and responsibilty to remove. Some years ago someone i knew 'claimed' an abandoned car. He towed it home, and reported it to the local Police as a 'found' item. No owner showed up within the relevant time period, so the Police told him he could keep the car. He applied for a V5, got it OK. If you apply for the V5 in your name as "change of ownership", the DVLA will send the owner a letter asking if they approve. If they dot reply within 2 weeks then you will get the V5 and its yours. hope this helps. (please dont take anything i say as gospel. i may be wrong but this is what i know)
Thanks for the advice! It has no tax or insurance and last M.O.T was in 2007 which was before the car park that it is parked in was built. Spoken to the Police and the DVLA so may just apply for the V5 and see how we go. The only difficult thing is that the car park space it is in costs per month and it has been there for at least 8 months so not sure if somebody is paying for it to sit there or not and the property owner cannot declare whether it is or not because of data protection.
You can apply to change the V5 into your name but you DO NOT own the car, V5 is not proof of ownership. If you chuck a ton of money into the car putting it right the rightful owner could come along and claim the car back and there's nothing you can do. Likewise you can't legally sell the car, because you don't own it.
