M3shark

I live in the country and a couple of days ago a 1st gen RX7 showed up abandoned on the side of the road. I waited a couple of days and then went in to check it out closer. Turns out from what I can tell the car is actually in reasonable sharp. The body and frame look good and the engine is there, although i have no clue if it runs, the only thing horrible on it is the interior. The car is obviously abandoned, and our road is a pretty common spot for people to abandon cars. My question is, what would I have to do to legally take possession of the car? Does anyone have any experience with anything like this?

neektar

iTrader: (2)

Take down the vin. Do a vin search at the dmv and find out who owns the car legally. If that person would sign the car over to you then it's great.

If you can't contact the owner you'd have to go back to the dmv and raise some hell.
I'm sure there's someone with more experience in this than me. Just my .02

Tranquil

iTrader: (1)

I say do what Nector said.

I found my RX-7 almost abandoned. I say almost because it was left behind a gas station and I was able to leave my number there for the man to reach me.

Seriously go for it. It was the best find ever, I love my FB.

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

im not sure if this is true or not, but ive heard that if a car is left on the side of the road for a certain amount of time you can legally take it. you can then either charge the owner for storage/tow fees or get an abandoned title? im not sure i heard this many many years ago when i was just a little ole chap

Alex-7

^That's right. if the car is left on your property for a certain amout of time you can charge a storage fee and put what's called a mechanics lean on the title with the state.

Picking it up of the side of the road though.......

I'd be supprised if the state or the county didn't have first dibs.

M3shark

ok, where is the easiest vin to find on an rx7? Also, the car is not on my property unfortiunitly, however what to keep me from towing to to my property and then saying it was left there?

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

^^^^haha, thats dirty. answer= the owner+POPO. look through the windshield behind the steering wheel close to the hood. kind of in the corner. cant miss it

rotor vs. piston

^^allot of times that's broke off on the S3 cars. If you can't find it in the dash try using one of your keys... don't worry if it's not a mazda key, and it may open the door to pop the hood. On the passengers side the vin is stamped into the fire wall toward the top... also there should be a plate in the same area that has the vin.

OnlyOnThurs

TAKE THE DAMN THING!!!... can you say track car!!!!

M3shark

Yeah thats what i was thinking.

Ok the vin is there, and get this the drivers door was unlocked. Not only that but there was an old registration listed to a linda in San Martin Ca, just sitting on the drivers floor. That registration expired in 97. Would a carfax on the car give me any of the privious history that i would need. Does anyone on here have an account thats active that can check the vin for me?

fcdrifter13

Its nearly impossible to get it usually. Using myself as an example when I tried getting that pantera. ITs almost impossible to get info, hard to find the owner and when you do he probably wont selll it.

rxtory

yep any key opens my seven, but starting it is a diffrent story

M3shark

Ok, all that i can gather from looking at the car is that it is an 1980 LS. It would be greatly appriciated if someone could run a carfax for me.

gigglesnirt

when i bought my 7 there were some registration problems and the dmv would not give out any info on the person who it said owned it so im not sure if you'll get any help from them.

81gsl12a

iTrader: (1)

best bet is to have a friend that is a COP...and give him the number they can look the car up and tell you everything about the car...the color and what dealer ship sold it ....but if you are sure it was just left there take it...if your not sure and you have a space and dont really care just take it lol...parts are always a good thing

miatacp

CARFAX won't tell you anything. It's about useless, just a ripoff.

gigglesnirt

its a sting operation watch out lol

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

personally I would go talk to your DMV, explain the situation and ask how to go about claiming the car, unless you can locate the owner, then go that route

seldawg

Why is it not in your back yard yet ? Grab it and go man. parts are parts. Seriously though, if it has been there for sometime, I would tow it and then try to figure out the rest with the DMV. That way if you can claim ownership you already have it and don't have to worry about someone like ME coming along and beating you to it.

M3shark

ok, I have decided, not to bother with the car. It seems there is no easy way to get the car legaly mine. Also since i do not currently own a 1st gen RX7(although a family member owns a second gen) I dont have the need for spare parts off of it. I also dont have time to strip it and sell the usable parts.


So as a Special Offer to all RX7Club members, if you PM me i will let you know where the car is located, and if you ask nicely i will even help you load it up if you want the help. IF anyone wants pictures of it then let me know and i will try to snap some in the next couple of days.

Edit: Rough location of the car is in Santa Cruz, California.

Kentetsu

Why not just contact the person on the registration that you found? If she sold the car, then why would the old registration slip still be in the car? Maybe it was stolen or something. Either way, it seems like nobody wants it so they shouldn't put up too much of a fight over signing off the title. Worth a shot...

DwArF

Can you post the pictures of it?

KeloidJonesJr.

iTrader: (8)

CAN YOU SAY TRAILER QUEEN!?!?!?

bliffle

I registered my SE a couple months ago at the CA DMV thru the "low value vehicle" method, which I found out about just by being polite to the guy behind the counter. He was helpful with my 4 vehicles so before I left the office I sat down and wrote out a good recommendation for him: hope he gets a raise. Get an appointment at the DMV (by phone or internet), it's usually just 3-4 days wait, and show up with whatever you have. You may need a second appointment, but it was all pretty simple.

Whizbang

in ohio you can apply for abandonment.