City Code Enforcement Abandoned Vehicle

[GMFan]

I received a notice in the mail from the city that my car was abandoned on a public street and it has been towed to a city yard with a $25 fee per day. The VIN and description match a 2011 Mazda 6 I previously owned but traded in about 2 years ago to a Honda dealership when I bought another car. The car had over 200,000 miles when I traded it but otherwise it ran okay. The notice said it had front and rear damage and missing hubcaps. I Google street viewed the location and it’s in a very very slummy area about 15 miles away.

I left a voicemail for the code enforcement official whose phone # was on the notice but haven’t received a response yet.

My guess is it may have been auctioned, or sold on the lot of one of many sketchy buy here pay here lots and never registered?. The notice does not list any plates on the car so I’m assuming it never had plates or they were removed or it had temp paper tags which are a plague on this city.

Do dealerships not notify the DMV when you trade in a car? I do not have a copy of the signed over title. All I have proving I traded the car is that all the vehicle information is noted on the retail purchase agreement on the new car showing that I traded it in.

What gives?

 

[dishdude]

I always notify the DMV when I sell or trade a vehicle, the dealer probably just sold it to a curbstoner or shady lot and the new owner never registered it. Happens all the time. Hopefully you still have the bill of sale from when you traded it, that should clear you.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Dealers are specifically supposed to notify the DMV / transfer the title but of course many don't because it takes time and money.

Hopefully you still have your paperwork from the trade so it doesn't come back to bight you.

Sadly your in NC. When I lived in Charlotte a big Ford dealer went under and they had failed to pay all the tax money they had collected on new car sales - so you buy a car, pay the dealer for all the taxes and there supposed to pay the state on your behalf, and they didn't. It was a huge mess because those people still owed the money. Unsure what happened. Seems whatever the NC system is its broken.

 

[fantastic]

Do a vin search or ask dmv with vin number to see if it was ever titled to someone else. If not go pick it up and file for lost title.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

This is why dealers should be required to take ownership of used cars and title them under their own name. Unfortunately, NC doesn't seem to require this.

Some states require dealers to title cars in their own name before selling them. Carfax has this information

 

[The_Jeff]

Do dealerships not notify the DMV when you trade in a car? I do not have a copy of the signed over title. All I have proving I traded the car is that all the vehicle information is noted on the retail purchase agreement on the new car showing that I traded it in.

What gives?

Bingo, that dealer is going to fry with the state for not putting in for a title for the new owner, even if that owner financed it and/or ran away from it.

 

[RhondaHonda]

The car is the collateral, nothing to worry about. Worst case, they keep the car, which you don’t own anyway.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

I would compose a real letter to the chief enforcement officer outlining the date I sold the vehicle to the dealer, with enough info for them to do the research, and be done with it. Trade in documentation would be good.

 

[K-Man]

The car is the collateral, nothing to worry about. Worst case, they keep the car, which you don’t own anyway.

Don't rely on that. The city government can still keep pursuing the OP for the storage costs. He needs to get this straightened out first thing on Monday morning. City governments aren't generally noted for their sense or efficiency. His problem ain't going away by itself.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Don't rely on that. The city government can still keep pursuing the OP for the storage costs. He needs to get this straightened out first thing on Monday morning. City governments aren't generally noted for their sense or efficiency. His problem ain't going away by itself.

That's why I advocate putting the situation in writing rather than discussing on phone, email, etc. Hand deliver if needed.

 

[Lubener]

I had a very similiar situation about 25 years ago. The guy I sold my car to never changed the title into his name to avoid paying tax on it. It broke down on the freeway 7 months after the sale. He yanked his plates and abandoned it. It was traced to me by the VIN. I had to send a notorized letter to the salvage company and the local police waiving all rights to the vehicle.

 

[Lubener]

The car is the collateral, nothing to worry about. Worst case, they keep the car, which you don’t own anyway.

The fees will continue to accrue until he waives all rights to the vehicle. Best to get it straightened out.

 

[RooflessVW]

I received a notice in the mail from the city that my car was abandoned on a public street and it has been towed to a city yard with a $25 fee per day. The VIN and description match a 2011 Mazda 6 I previously owned but traded in about 2 years ago to a Honda dealership when I bought another car. The car had over 200,000 miles when I traded it but otherwise it ran okay. The notice said it had front and rear damage and missing hubcaps. I Google street viewed the location and it’s in a very very slummy area about 15 miles away.

I left a voicemail for the code enforcement official whose phone # was on the notice but haven’t received a response yet.

My guess is it may have been auctioned, or sold on the lot of one of many sketchy buy here pay here lots and never registered?. The notice does not list any plates on the car so I’m assuming it never had plates or they were removed or it had temp paper tags which are a plague on this city.

Do dealerships not notify the DMV when you trade in a car? I do not have a copy of the signed over title. All I have proving I traded the car is that all the vehicle information is noted on the retail purchase agreement on the new car showing that I traded it in.

What gives?

Same thing happened to me when I traded my X3. I told them I traded it in and it was no longer registered to me and that was the end of it.

 

[Dave Hess]

In Florida there is paperwork you can fill out and it waives all rights to your old vehicle.

 

[KrisZ]

Call the city and notify them when you traded in the vehicle and with which dealer and don’t worry about it.

 

[K2K2]

I would compose a real letter to the chief enforcement officer outlining the date I sold the vehicle to the dealer, with enough info for them to do the research, and be done with it. Trade in documentation would be good.

This, along with dealer paperwork showing your trade, and they'll go away.

Dealer messed up, or new owner never registered...similar thing happened to me a few years ago.

 

[Finklejag]

This happened to me about 20 years ago. I traded in my car and I received a parking ticket in the mail shortly after. I notified the city I sold the car and went on my way. In the State of Washington, you must notify the State you sold your car or motorcycle. They charge $13.25 for this privilege.

 

[svtrit]

I sold a D100 pickup when I lived in CA. 2 years later, while living in Iowa, I received a ticket for an abandoned vehicle for that truck.

I sent a letter to the DMV with the Bill of Sale i created when I sold the truck with the new owners signature and address. Never heard from them again, but I never paid the ticket either.

 

[Marcozi]

Never trust the buyer - dealer or private party - to notify the DMV of the sale. In the 1980s I was in the Navy stationed in the San Francisco bay area (Mare Island). I ordered a new BMW 325e (don't giggle, yes it was slow!) from a dealer in Marin County. I sold my old car, a 1980 320i, to a car wholesaler. A few months later I received a notice of unpaid parking tickets from LA authorities. I wrote them that I had sold the car months previous, and that I'd never been in LA. They demanded I pay the for the tickets. I went to the DMV and filled out paperwork showing that I'd sold the car. That worked.

 

[Ranger83]

In Massachusetts if you aren’t a used car dealer you have to pay sales tax on a purchase.

So a lot of “flippers” ask the seller to leave the “sold to” section of the title blank. Then they sell it to a new owner - they fill it out, pay sales tax and register it. No recourse if anything is wrong.

So the DPRM thinks it’s your car until the new owner registers it. It seems about three quarters of the people selling cars on FaceBook marketplace are doing this. Technically if you sell more than four cars a year, you are automatically classified as a used car dealer.

It should surprise no one that people who are allowed to come here illegally tend to treat our laws as optional.