Claiming dumped vehicle?

Saibal

I remember long ago some news item which said you can legally claim a car which has been dumped. There is one on the road on which I live, right next to the side wall, with no tax disc or other identifying mark on it, a bit of an old banger of a Nissan Micra. Having been looking for some such car for rough use anyway, to protect my precious Audi A4, I wonder if someone can enlighten me on this law and how to make the claim?

Baz-Bee

If a vehicle has been abandoned by its lawful owner on the public highway it effectively becomes waste (the same as litter or anything else disgarded on the public highway) and is therefore the responsibility of the local waste collection authority (your local council). They should make arrangements to collect it for disposal by the waste disposal authority for your area. Some councils may be prepared for a third party to acquire the vehicle from them or more probable their appointed contractor. However, they would probably make a charge.


Additionally the DVLA also have recent powers where a vehicle is not displaying a current Road Fund Licence (tax disc).Again they will normally imobilise the vehicle and make arrangements for it to be either stored or destroyed depending upon age and condition. Again some of these vehicles can be acquired but there is normally a price to pay and often if the car is below a certain value it will automatically be destroyed. This is becuse of the issues of selling un-roadworthy vehicles.

Ted_Hutchinson

When a car was abandoned locally I was advised that providing the local authority hadn't been notified of it's existance and put a sticker on the windscreen warning the owner it was going to be removed, I could claim it and remove it myself.

I removed the vehicle to my property and left a message where it had been left, saying where the vehicle was now and why I had removed it (the council were intending to remove it) and saying that if it wasn't claimed in seven days I would consider it mine.

The rightful owners appeared and took it away without any aggravation, they probably realised that by my taking an untaxed vehicle off the roadside I had saved them some bother. But it nearly was a freebie car but I still wonder if they were bluffing and I should have checked that it really was their's.
Once the council have stickered it then it's theirs and you can't do anything about it but before they sticker it you can use your initiative. I don't know what happens about retaxing an abandoned car, I never got that far.