stabben

I've driven past a blue '91 n/a coupe for several months now, and it seems to be an abandoned vehicle. It's sitting on a parking lot in an industrial area of Little Rock, Arkansas, and I stopped to take a closer look at it today:

There are no plates on the car, some exterior things are missing, it has the '91 five-spoke GTU(?) rims and the S5 front and rear. Looks to be in fairly good shape, and the interior seems pretty intact. But, I have no idea if it even has an engine in it. But the body seems fine and it should be restorable. About 133k miles on the odometer.

Anyway, does anyone here know what the deal is with this car? And, if it really is abandonded, I have a really bad itch to get my hands on it some way or another - cheaply! Any ideas? Does the State/City have a set procedure for disposing of abanonded cars, if it really is abandonded? I really would like to know. Poor car!

Thanks!

Icemark

Go to the DMV and say that the car with this vin backed into you, and parked and has no plates, you just need to find out who the owner is to see if he has insurance or if you need to file with your insurance company.

Once you find who the owner is contact him or her and ask if the car is theirs. If it is tell them you'll buy it for $100 if it isn't then say thanks and take the car re-registering it in your name.

Now mind you I am not a lawyer nor do I even play one on TV, so you may wish to contact a real lawyer to make sure my suggestion is on target.

vaughnc

Ask the store owner

aZizzo

arkansas, eh?

red wire + yellow wire == hotwire ...

knight1976

Boosted rx7 = no faster way to goverment funded vacation.

stabben

Icemark probably has the right idea, even though the hotwire idea is tempting... It's sitting by what looks like a warehouse, not an actual store front. Actually, there's another rex sitting right next to it, but an older S4 model, in much worse shape... What are these people thinking of!? Like someone said, some people should not have an RX-7!

What happens to abandoned cars in the state of Arkansas? Are they impounded, re-sold, or just junked? Can you buy them for a fee? Guess I should talk to the local "guvmint" people about this.

Any Little Rock folks on this forum able to comment on this?

fcturbo2

Gone is 60 seconds!...ohh shoot no engine!..

HOZZMANRX7

iTrader: (43)

I wonder what character he DOES play on tv?

13B2QuIcKNy

um steal those taillights lol

stabben

The whole car would be better. A dedicated, lightened autocrosser... Uhmm...

Anyway, I already have a '91 vert with those sweet, round taillights. Never had a coupe though.

RX7BEAR

wait till someone steals your car !!!!! because you had the opertoonity to have it sit somewhere. Dont even say steal the lights or hot wire it that is so not cool !!!!!!!!! Do it the leagal way and see whats up with it.

Tall2Guy

Here's what happens in Alabama.

An abandoned car is found or reported. The local or state police go and put a notice on the car to move it. After I think 3 days, they tow it. The car is held for 90 days (not sure on that, might be 60) at a state facility to see if it gets claimed. If it doesn't, the title is changed to abandoned/reclaimed and it is auctioned off.

At no point can you get the car. You have to buy it at auction.

You mentioned there's another one parked in front of it? I would say the chances of that being random are pretty slim. Maybe the warehouse owner is just slow in restoring it? Which means he'll miss it if you swipe it.

I would try what Icemark said, or if you have cop friends, get them to run the VIN.

MasonX

You won't be able to get the owner's name with only a VIN. Go ahead and try though.

crasher2

all you have to do is go to the DMV there in Littlerock tell them you have what you think is an abandoned vehicle parked in front of your house, give them the vin and they can run it for you. Then all you have to do is contact the owner to see what is up with the car. or if you know a cop ask him to do it, the DMV mihgt cost you money. Plus is the nose of the car sitting high, if so then it has no engine in it.

PaulC

Best way is to ask for the owner then make and offer. Odds are someone at the warehouse owns them.

Thaniel

Yah, like said before try and contact the owner.

I picked up a motorcycle in a similar way. Guy sold the motorcycle the new owner never registered it or changed the title. Just left it abandoned (from the look of it after laying it down).

stabben

No, no way I would do anything illegal here!! I just feel sorry for the car, because it looks decent and restorable, and wouldn't mind taking care of it.

The front sits at normal height, so there's an engine in it. If it works is another matter. Perhaps it carbon locked and the owner thought it was shot (ATF, here we go!) and abandoned it?

I'll go get the VIN today and then go from there. I know a guy who USED TO be a cop here in town. Should check with him too.

But, chances are the car(s) do belong to someone at the warehouse, as pointed out. I think they still should be checked out though (VIN).

Thanks for all your responses!

stabben

OK, guys (and girls!)!

UPDATE: I think I know what the deal is with this blue coupe now!
When I stopped to look at it the other day I didn't know there were any businesses on the other side of the warehouse-looking building, since it's facing the road. Turns out there's a Mazda only repair shop there, but nobody around at the time to talk to. I should have checked more thoroughly the first time...
I checked back a bit later, still nobody there. I'll try to call the guy also.

But, got some more info on the car after a closer look:
There's a registration sticker on it from April of 1997 (inspections are no longer performed in Arkansas as of a couple of years ago, but it must still have been sitting for quite a while). The brake rotors are severely rusted (sure sign), probably the rear calipers are fused to the rotors by now. The clearcoat is peeling on the roof and spots on the hood and the paint has faded in places (it's that pretty bluish/black paint). There is a large dent in the passenger door and one in the front bumper, but no frame damage from what I can tell. The car sits level and all the tires are still filled. Some interior plastic is cracked and/or missing - pretty normal, I'd say. The seats and carpet look OK. Glass is OK. Even has the spoiler, but no antenna.

My guess so far is the repair guy might not be that good at fixing rotaries, since ONLY RX-7s are sitting there, even though it's a Mazda only place and you'd expect a grater variety of Mazda's. The car must then sit there for a reason. Could just be a locked motor, him not knowing any better? Perhaps he got tired of messing with it. Would the car legally belong to this guy, you think? Or did some Rex owner just not bother to pick it up?

Will do some more investigating! Could be worth a few hundred bucks, if only as a parts car, don't you think?

But now the wife is also making mad noises about the mere mention of more cars in the driveway...

stabben

Oh, also, I'm not going to bother with the VIN just yet. First see what the deal is. Might need your help later.

aZizzo

i wanna hear the rest of the story! pm me when you have more news

stabben

Well, this is the end of the saga, for me anyway.
Bit of a wild goose chase, it turns out:
I found the repair guy today, seems nice, and he said the blue coupe belongs to a customer, waiting for an engine rebuild! Turns out it has bad apex seals.

I also seem to stand corrected as to the guys abilities with rotaries, since he was outside test driving an FD he just finished working on... My bad!

At least I'm happy I've found SOMEONE here in town that seems to be able to work on my vert, for the really big stuff that is.

Also, I got the coupe owner's name and number, so if anyone here is interested in this car, and if the guy is selling (unknown) you could get the info from me. For me, this adventure is over, not financially interesting anymore, but I at least had to know!

Thanks to all of you for your responses and interest.