Buying an abandoned vehicle?

wingman

wingman

wingman

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There's a seemingly abandoned BMW E36 328i on our road which has been sat for about a year or so now, untaxed and uninsured and illegally parked (i.e. on a main road).

I'm surprised the council or Police haven't towed it yet, it's taking up a space which is in itself frankly a bit of a pain, as parking can be at a premium at certain parts of the day.

The body work is in a bit of state in terms of grime and dirt, but other than that I feel like it could be restored quite easily and would make for a decent ownership proposition (that is, me).

Are there any protocols for this? How do I trace the owner? Or, do I report it to the Police and contact them when it's been removed, to register my interest in buying (is that even possible?).

It could be an absolute shed with a blown engine, I appreciate! :D
 
There is some way you can inform the dvla of your interest in the . I'm sure they then wrote to the owner to ask them to state they still want it - don't know what the time periods involved are

Edit - might be as simple as just claiming for the v5
 
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Personally I wouldn't want it. Imagine it's been used for drug dealing. Or by a lady of the night. Not just mould covering the seats :S
 
wingman said:
That's fine because I want it for drug dealing and prostitution.
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If you report it to the cops, they'll probably seize it to check it hasn't been used for either of those. As far as I know, they all go to the crusher after.

Do they do auctions here like they do in the states with recovered / seized vehicles?
 
I think so, but I guess it's up to them to check whether the car is even worthy for the auction? My guess would be this car might not even start in it's current state, could need fresh oils and a new battery at the very least.
 
OhEsEcks said:
If you report it to the cops, they'll probably seize it to check it hasn't been used for either of those. As far as I know, they all go to the crusher after.

Do they do auctions here like they do in the states with recovered / seized vehicles?
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Where I am, if it's been abandoned the police will want nothing to do with it. It's a council problem.
 
Is that a question or a statement? :)

It's not particularly rare as far as I know, it's a 328i coupe with a manual transmission, in silver with black leather.

In all honesty it's half of me wanting it, and half of me genuinely wanting it shifted. This was my first port of call, to see how I could get it moved on to create an extra parking space where my partner or I usually park.

The other half of me has always fancied an E36 and if I could get it for minimal outlay, give it a bit of TLC and get it back on the road legally, I think I'd feel quite chuffed with myself. No real rhyme or reason, just fancy a project. Might be able to make a couple of quid, or alternatively get another car for my partner.
 
Police don't care about abandoned car, we had a stolen car abandoned down a street near my house, police used to drive past all the time, I had to phone the council and tell them about it, was gone after 2 days.
 
lemonade said:
Police don't care about abandoned car, we had a stolen car abandoned down a street near my house, police used to drive past all the time, I had to phone the council and tell them about it, was gone after 2 days.
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If the DVLA catch it without tax they'll clamp it but the police won't be interested. I had an abandoned car left outside after 6 months got sick to death of it in the end phoned the council was gone within the week.
 
rodenal said:
There is some way you can inform the dvla of your interest in the . I'm sure they then wrote to the owner to ask them to state they still want it - don't know what the time periods involved are

Edit - might be as simple as just claiming for the v5
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If you claim the v5 to an abandoned car you don't transfer ownership. The owner could pay their £3 to the DVLA at any point in the future, come visit you & take their car back.
If you sell on an abandoned car which you have 'V5 claimed' you commit a criminal offence.

OP, I'd report it as untaxed. I think you can do it online now. They will take it away eventually.
 
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