What’s the problem with using the “abandoned vehicle” designation to get a title for a car while the problem exists?

First of all, determine whether this is truly an abandoned card or if someone just left it somewhere, because that’s the definition: the owner is unknown and it’s discarded. If that’s truly the case and you want to get a title based on that definition, it’s going to be a problem because it’s abandoned. Where was it abandoned if it’s on a public street and doesn’t belong to you?

If it’s on your property that you own as the owner of the property, you may be able to make a claim against it, but it’s not an automatic get me a title. It’s a process where you have to advertise in the newspaper that this car was abandoned. Does anybody want it? Are there any lines on it? You have to auction it off. You don’t just get the car. You have to auction it to the highest bidder and use the money to pay for fees. 

It’s also not valid in every state in most cases. It has to be auctioned off by a towing company, meaning you have to call a towing company, they tow it, they accrue towing bills, and then they auction it off. Plus, it can take 90 days, so if you know that the owner doesn’t want it and you know who the owner is, don’t try to do an abandoned vehicle; get a duplicate title for them. If it’s abandoned, they should have no problem giving you a duplicate if it’s not abandoned and somebody has a claim against it. Then that’s a different story. There may be other ways to get a title, but jumping into the abandoned vehicle process for a title might sound like an easy thing to do. But in most cases, it’s not going to work.