Someone abandoned a car on my property. How do I get rid of it legally?

A car someone else left is still their property, and usually a lender's too, until a state process says otherwise. Skipping that process is how a property owner ends up paying for a tow or answering for a car they had no right to scrap.

Does the law call it abandoned yet?

Most states put a clock on it, and the clocks are far apart. On private land without the owner's consent:

• 24 hours: Alaska and Iowa
• 48 hours: Alabama, where the term is "Unclaimed", plus Indiana, Maryland, Texas and Virginia
• Seven days: Nebraska, South Carolina and Utah

Some definitions add more than time. Minnesota's covers a car that also lacks vital parts. In DC, a car on private property has to sit more than 30 days and look inoperable. Ohio adds a separate category, the "abandoned junk motor vehicle": three years old or older, worth $1,500 or less on the market, and meeting other tests (R.C. 4513.63).

The three ways it usually leaves

1. Police or sheriff removal. In many states officers do the removing. California lets a peace officer or a designated government employee remove a car believed abandoned from public or private property. Montana's sheriff or city police remove and hold a car at the property owner's request. In Ohio, on a complaint, a sheriff or police chief may order into storage a car left at least four hours on private residential or agricultural land without permission (R.C. 4513.60).

2. A tow you authorize, after notice. Other states let the landowner call the tow, with paperwork first:

• Oregon: post a notice on the vehicle saying it will be towed if not removed, leave it there at least 72 hours, then sign a form describing the car and its location (ORS 98.830).
• Arizona: removal from private property needs your written authorization on an MVD form.
• Delaware: the owner gets a certified letter with seven days to move the car, then a sticker gives 24 hours before the tow.
• Pennsylvania: after 24 hours without consent you may authorize removal once you've filed a report with local police.
• Idaho: a person controlling non-commercial real property may have a tow company take a car from unposted land by signing a release form.
• North Dakota: an owner, tenant or occupant may ask a commercial towing service to remove it.

3. The junk-car route. Ohio makes it illegal to willfully leave an abandoned junk motor vehicle on another person's private land longer than 72 hours unless the possessor allows it (R.C. 4513.64). That kind of car is photographed and then disposed of to a salvage dealer or scrap processor. Nevada works similarly for an unregistered, junk-looking car with no known owner: a notice can go on it saying it may be junked after seven days.

Vermont: you can move it, but you must report it

Vermont is a clear example of a state that trusts the landowner and then checks. A landowner may remove an abandoned vehicle, or have it removed, and may call a towing service (23 V.S.A. 2152). Whoever removes it must "immediately notify" the police agency for that spot and give the plate number, the VIN if there is one, and the make, model and color. You can also ask an officer to remove it once it's shown to be abandoned.

Can you keep it, sell it or scrap it?

Usually not right away, and in some states never. The pattern across the states we checked is notice first, title later:

• Owner and lender get notice. In Ohio, police identify the owner and any lienholder within five business days of removal. If nobody claims the car 10 days after the notice is sent, it's declared a nuisance and disposed of (R.C. 4513.61). Alabama requires a report to its revenue department within five calendar days and puts a 60-day hold on the title record.
• Alaska: a car left 24 hours on private land counts as abandoned. If no one reclaims it within 15 days of notice, title goes to the state or municipality, not the landowner.
• Vermont: the landowner applies to the DMV for an abandoned-vehicle certification within 90 days of finding or moving the car.
• New Mexico: the claimant mails a Notice of Mechanic's or Landowner's Lien (MVD-10058) by certified or registered mail, giving the owner and lienholder 10 days to pay.
• New Jersey: cars abandoned on private land has to go to public sale or auction.
• Tennessee: private individuals can't use the abandoned-vehicle sale procedure at all; a finder has to verify ownership through the Revenue Department.

Once a state has actually put the title in your name, the car is yours to sell like any other. Until then, don't sign it over, part it out or haul it to a yard.

Costs, and who carries them

Oregon makes abandoning a vehicle on public or private property an offense, and the DMV-recorded owner is liable for towing and disposal. Alaska also puts removal and disposal costs on the owner of record. In California, dumping a car on land you don't own, without permission, draws a $100 minimum fine, and the dumper has to prove the towing bill got settled.

Abandoned car rules, state by state

The private-property rule from each state's packet, or the closest row where that's all the packet holds.

If the car ends up yours: fix it or sell it?

Some property owners do end up with title through the state process. At that point it's an ordinary used-car decision. A car that sat outside long enough to be declared abandoned usually has flat tires, a dead battery and stale fuel at the least. If it runs after basic work and the title is clean, fixing and driving it can make sense. If it needs an engine, a transmission or major rust repair, letting it go unrepaired tends to be simpler. Our guide to selling a car with no title covers the paperwork side if the state process left you without a printed title.

Selling it to us once the title is yours

We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and that includes one you got through your state's abandoned-vehicle process. Ask for an offer and mention how the title came to you, plus the car's year, make, model and condition. You can sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Not sure your state's steps are done? Call (877) 421-6008 and we'll talk it through.