Abandoned Volvo: This week's episode

Probably should have simply expressed interest in buying the car instead of offering them a lowball price, that way she might have at least responded. I still say she's probably dead.

Well if you got no response doesn't that open the door to claiming ownership?

Getting a response to the letter would have circumvented any involvement of the owners of the motel where the car sits; I'd now be dealing directly with the car's owner. Without the consent of the car's owner, it would be incumbent on the owners of the property where the car sits to get law enforcement involved to have it declared abandoned. So the next step is to see if they're willing to do that, which seems like almost every bit as much hassle as contacting the owner of the car.

Move the car somewhere else, perhaps just out of the parking lot onto public land.

I have not been following this saga so sorry if this has been mentioned, but have you considered the car might have a loan against it and you could get paid to reposses it, then buy it from the repo company?

No, nobody has mentioned that. The bill of sale is in the car, dated 10-17-03 and she paid $1350 for the car then, but I suppose could have borrowed against it after that. The license plates expired in July of 2004, so I'd assume it's been sitting there before then. Which means she didn't even drive it for very long before abandoning it. So, yes, it could very well be that she just stopped paying for it if she was making payments. Good point. In order to determine if there's a loan, I'm assuming I'd just have to go to the DMV with a copy of the registration and ask them(?)

My father 'repossesed' an El Camino he fancied. The circumstances sound similar to yours, apparent abandoned vehicle. Basically he ended up just sending the bank several hundred dollars (car value minus repo charge) and the bank sent him the title. The bank had no idea where the car was and therefore was happy to get something/anything for it.

Can you spend a little time researching what's involved for the motel owners to report it abandoned on their lot? If you approach them with everything well laid out in advance, and make it very easy for them, then that takes away their hassle factor.

James, this has become a wild horse that you just have to mount, now don't you?

Group, I think we have a short story on our hands. Who/how do we copyright this?

I've driven Volvos more than 30 yrs now. I have more than a couple mildly entertaining stories related to Volvos. What's more, my wife's 1st hubby and their best friends also drove Volvos back in the '60s (444s, 544s). She spent a few days of her honeymoon in a Colorado junkyard while her hubby (#1) and she rebuilt his tranny en-route to their destination. Says there was a small community of other freedom-loving flower children in the same junkyard, mostly rebuilding their VW buses.

Did I tell you the time...

Ramblin' Pat

'91 240 '70 1800E and several others

Gomer, any more news on this front?

Personally, I'd have dropped this long ago, so I admire the size of your cojones for pursuing it this far.

For those of you who don't know Spanish but have seen Major League 2, substitute "MARBLES"