I plan on abandoning my car...

[Auggie]

Can anybody tell me what the liability is for abandoning a car?

I tried (and failed) to donate my car to Goodwill today - I have no idea where the car's title is, and I'm not interested in wasting an afternoon at the courthouse getting a copy of the title. Right now it's in Goodwill's parking lot. What happens if I just leave it there and never come back to get it?

 

[mayonnaise]

Towed at owner's expense?

 

[Xyo II]

The cops will look at the little serial number thing and you'll get in trouble? That, or maybe Goodwill will actually take the car.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: mayonnaise
Towed at owner's expense?

QFT

 

[Colt45]

didja scrape all the serial numbers off? lol

 

[NeoAaronX]

http://www.donateacar.com/

3. What do I need to donate my vehicle?

A: We would like the title to the vehicle, but if you do not have it please call us anyway. It is possible that other arrangements may be made. Please call us toll-free at 1-800-237-5714 seven days a week.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

my local junkyard will pay $125 if you drive the vehicle in and all you need is a photo ID.

 

[Brentx]

Ummm Rawhide Boy's ranch? Ever think of donating it to them... they will take almost anything.

 

[novasatori]

Originally posted by: NeoAaronX
http://www.donateacar.com/

3. What do I need to donate my vehicle?

A: We would like the title to the vehicle, but if you do not have it please call us anyway. It is possible that other arrangements may be made. Please call us toll-free at 1-800-237-5714 seven days a week.

looks like a solution to op's problem

 

[Journer]

give it to me...ill make good use of it >)

 

[Leros]

How evil are you? Give it to a poor person, then call the cops and report it stolen.

 

[Printer Bandit]

make sure you get all of the blood stains out of the trunk first.

 

[FallenHero]

You can try donating it to a local fire department for practice.

 

[NeoAaronX]

Wait, wait, wait,...... I got it.


Get one of those Lexus bows and park it in someone's driveway Christmas morning!

 

[Auggie]

Originally posted by: NeoAaronX
Wait, wait, wait,...... I got it.


Get one of those Lexus bows and park it in someone's driveway Christmas morning!

Hell yes! Where do you live?

(I actually really like the auto-salvage place. Looking online I've already found a place that'll take my car as-is.)

 

[RelaxTheMind]

Go to DMV with every form of identification as well as a 5 gallon sperm sample and DNA architecture on a flash drive. Then they will give you a new title.

I had to get a new title once on my first car (the rare 85 celica gts) and it was... not fun. I guess its not all that bad if you enjoy jumping through lots and lots of hoops.

 

[czech09]

It's happened to me before actually something worse - I sold my car and the guy I sold it too never changed the title to his name so it was still under mine. He abandoned it and it was towed to some place. I got a letter in the mail a few months later saying I owe like $15 per day the car has been there (way over the car's value). I called them up told them I had sold it and they told me it'll go up for auction not to worry about it.

 

[uberman]

Donating cars is really hard. I've tried St. Vincent de Paul and Salvation Army a couple times. It's always some problem. "We only do cars on Thursdays." or "The person who does vehicles only comes in on Mondays." They just don't seem motivated to accept cars and I've given away some nice ones.

 

[Zee]

leave it on the middle of the street with engine running and windows open. someone will take care of it for you

 

[dullard]

You'll get a massive towing fee + daily storage fee.

Donating a car is no longer a good idea now that they changed the laws (due to massive tax abuse that was rampant). Sell the car, and if you wish, donate the proceeds from the sale.

 

[jlbenedict]

I'm sure a junkyard will give you $50 for it. Probably don't need a title since they will scrap it.. In addition, they may even come tow it off for you.

 

[mcurphy]

When my wife worked for Kohl's, someone abandoned a car in the parking lot and it sat there for almost a year. She called the police department to have them take care of it, but they wouldn't touch it since it was on private property. They eventually had to call a local tow company to come and get it. I don't know what happened after that.

I know the car had temp plates on it and the police had told her it was probably recently (around the time abandoned) sold and wasn't owned by the person they came up with when they ran the VIN number. So I'm sure it was difficult for the towing company to track down the actual owner.

I'd recommend you try donating the proper way to another charity. Otherwise it may come back to you with a lot of unwanted fees, and you'll save some people the hassle of tracking you down.

 

[Jfrag Teh Foul]

Donate to Mythbusters!

 

[Meatyone]

Originally posted by: Zee
leave it on the middle of the street with engine running and windows open. someone will take care of it for you

It doesn't run - that's why it is still sitting at Goodwill and the real reason they didn't want it. OP pushed the car into their lot.

Just leave it there. Call the police and report it stolen. Then, in exchange for you not pressing charges, they take the car.

 

[Meatyone]

Or drive it into a quarry. Film it, upload to YouTube and then post the link here. Don't forget to jump out at the last second.