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RaspberryTechnical90 t1_ixux0xt wrote

Reply to comment by AOCMarryMe in Still a car community in Pittsburgh? Looking to sell a project car. by [deleted]

Long story short, the father of the original owner, who passed away.

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motociclista t1_ixuzi3m wrote

That’s not a long story. That’s a short story. And that story is “I don’t own this car and therefore cannot legally sell it.” You need to get the title straight before you try to sell it. You’re opening yourself up to a mess of trouble if you sell a car you don’t own. It likely doesn’t have much value and may not be worth the hassle of making legal for sale.

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RaspberryTechnical90 t1_ixv2o7n wrote

I’ve tried to contact anyone who might have the title, or still be in contact with whoever has the title. For years. No one wants the car, or knows what grandparent’s garage the title ended up in.

I’m as sure as you are that it isn’t worth the hassle of legal issues. This is a situation where I would almost consider paying someone to get it off my property. This was more of a “how do I find car people who can steer me in the right direction” post, not a situation where I thought I was about to make a great sale.

I know it was a really cool car and had potential. I just thought someone could have fun with it, and I could have my garage back….It sounds instead like I’ll have to go through a civil court situation to get anywhere.

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motociclista t1_ixv8nq6 wrote

There are auto salvage companies that will remove unwanted cars, they normally want a title, but I’m sure some will waive that. Call around, someone will remove it. Or you can contact penndot and find out what the process is for obtaining a title on an abandoned vehicle. Just cover your ass. Selling a vehicle you don’t own can get tricky if somewhere down the road the rightful owner shows up.

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RaspberryTechnical90 t1_ixvgupk wrote

I will definitely contact penndot on Monday for more info. Now I’m completely freaked out about getting in trouble…It would have been cool to see the car go to someone who’d enjoy it, but it’s certainly not worth all the hassle.

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motociclista t1_ixvlhel wrote

It’s not so much that you’ll get in trouble. It’s more like it could be a giant hassle. The only way you’d get in trouble is if the vehicle was reported stolen at any point. If that’s the case, you’re sitting on stolen property. But there’s not much chance that it was reported stolen. What can and has happened is the next of kin of the deceased can find out the car exists and decide they want it. Let’s say you sell it to someone. Then one day there’s a knock on your door “Hi, I’m such and such and I heard you might have my dads old car. It’s legally mine and I’d like to have it.” Now, you have a hassle. You sold a car you didn’t own and the person who bought it has to give it back to the rightful owner, and they’re just out the money. This is a very unlikely but possible scenario. The most likely scenario is whomever owns it, if anyone, doesn’t care about it and never will. But whoever buys it from you will have a hassle getting a title. Your best bet is to sell it to someone who is aware of the title status and doesn’t care. The last thing you want is to sell it to someone that will come back in a year after they fix it and bug you to help them find the title. Call a few “we buy cars” type used car lots. They usually know the loopholes and can deal with the title issues.

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