It's just sitting there...What would you do??

I'm all for the 'tow it to his house' angle. Call him and leave a message stating that you plan to do just that within 48 hours. Bet you anything, your phone will ring soon after.

 

I agree with 3wLarry and Bruce Lancaster... send him a letter.. if no response... leave it in his driveway....

 

Usually any ordinances from the village or city on stored or abandoned cars is for residential . I think if you covered it up even it would take away from the eyes view the inspector is seeing . Also is it in the rear of the building or out front on a side lot . Then i would definitely cover it up and keep trying to coctact your buddy and explain the situation let him make the call on what you have to decide.

 

I think what your learning here is that there are different levels of Friend Ships. I've learned they can be heavy on one side. I've also learned once the Law is involved the friendship is Over. R. Seghi gave you the best advice. It's the correct thing to do for all involved. A true friend would not be avoiding you. We all learn that once a Man says "my wife won't" that we shouldn't also, friend or not. It's really Lame to put things on your Wife. Pay for the Tow and drop the car in front of his House, your problems over. It's just the right thing to do.
The Wizzard

 

I don't know how you count your "real friends"or damn good friend, but i can count mine on one hand, sounds like this guy is just a user and its really not a big deal to him. you know out of sight out of mind.

If he was a real friend he would not put you in this fix and then ignore your efforts to talk to him.

Registered letter, 30 days and file with the city,tell them what has happened and see what they suggest and do***ent it. because if all you have is a verbal aggreement you are still liable for the car and can get your *** in a real crack if anything happens to the car.

my 2 cents

 

The problem with putting the car in his driveway is - it might not still be his driveway! He may have moved. That would explain why he doesn't answer the calls or mail.

I'd call the inspector and explain you are going through the legal steps to gain ownership of it. You can't dispose of it if it's not yours. REQUEST that you need X amount of time. Believe it or not, most of the inspectors I've delt with are reasonable if you're not a jack*** or trying to bullsh*t them. They get a lot of that and can usually tell the difference.

Ask the inspector what you should do with it. He probably already knows the best course of action and may even tell you something none of us have thought of yet.

Also, ask him if your shop has been grandfathered in.

Although the inspector may BECOME your adversary, he's not yet. Use him to your advantage.

If he does have a God complex, all bets are off. Have as little contact as possible or he'll make your life miserable for his own pleasure.

Just my opinion. It's woth what you paid for it.

 

A good friend doesn't put you in this type of predicament. I would proceed in YOUR best interest, which is to deliver the car to his property. It is the least time consuming route you have.

 

In Illinois, at least, getting a Mechanics Lien on a vehicle requires that you sell it. And I'd be willing to bet that if you tried something funny to re-acquire it, you'd be in a heap o' trouble with the state.
Cosmo

 

I like this one.

~Jason

 

Not much of a friend. Tow it to his house and wash your hands of it. Consider the tow bill money paid for a lesson learned. You won't see him again anyway. A real friend wouldn't put you in this position. Pat.

 

A more venal angle: This friendship is clearly not worth a whole lot and is declining rapidly.
If "Rare car" means '52 Chevy fourdoor with rust, ge***thehell over to his house and wash your hands. He can take the friendship to wherever he cares to after that, and you have contributed nothing immoral or illegal to the proceedings and can accept or ignore whatever follows with a clear conscience.
If "rare car" means Duesenberg SJ or a Holy Grail level Ford...hmmm. If your ***essment of the friendship comes up near zero, you have conscientiously provided him with a service and now have no response. Go legal, apply for lien or abandoned car ***le to cover storage, say bye-bye to friend who left you stewing in his problem.
Some friendships are worth more than any car, some friendships aren't worth a dented hubcap.

 

What if you loaded up the car on a trailer and tarped it? No one could see it from the street, OR if they were right up near it.

If the trailers are okay sitting there, this would effectively hide it - especially with a cable through the grommets on the tarp.

~Jason

 

I want to know what type of car it is...first dibs if it is something I want hahaa

 

WS Dad, best idea. had not thought that he might have moved.

 

No ****! LOL!

~Jason

 

Here it is!!

 

If you know where to send the letter, you can Mapquest it, and take a drive over to see if his corpse is rotting in his bathroom Elvis-style...

 

now that i see what your talking about...go rent an endloader for 2 hours and dig a hole and throw it in there ...hey another time capsule for when your pal ever shows back up again..he can go rent another endloader to get his car back...city will never know its there

 

That little Ford Capri. If thats where it,s standing now it does look like it,s been abandoned. Maybe you can at least move it closer to your shop or even against the outside wall. Then park something else next to it. Hell, it,s that small your friend should be able to get into his own back yard.

 

What kind of friend "of 20 yrs" wouldn't return your phone calls when his car is putting YOU in a bind?! Time to get new friends...

 

Why is it friendships always end over a nice car, or piece of **** woman.

 

You don't owe him ****. As a FRIEND, he should've kept in better contact with YOU, instead of you trying to chase him down after doing him a favor. Sell the piece of ****. If you CAN'T, in this economy get what he paid, too bad. How'd I do?

 

sad.......but true!

 

Yeah drop it off in his driveway. Problem solved.

 

Everybody wants to bash your friend. Most friends are worth keeping and only you can decide that, but give him the benefit of doubt. He may be sick or out of town. He may be at the lawyers office to get a divorce. That is what I would do with a woman that would not "let" me bring my car home.

 

Tow that damn German Ford over to your ex-friend's house and leave it at the curb.

 

Bruce has the simple answer. As I see it, the simple answer is the best answer in this case. You tried to contact your friend.... a certified letter would just be kind of a waste... I am sure you will hear from him "right now" when the car shows up in his driveway....

Besides, I think it would be funny to imagine your buddy's wifes face when she sees the car sitting there... Priceless...

 

I would ask the inspector exactly how much time you have, and continue to try to contact the owner. If the car is something that I had no interest in (like a Ford Capri) I would let the city take it when the time comes. It's between the city and the owner.

I'm thinkin' if you have a 4000 sq ft warehouse and no room to keep your Caddy inside, maybe it's time for some serious house cleaning.

 

I was in the same situation. A friend refered someone to me for build on 56 Bel Air HT. Car was dropped off in Dec 05. By Aug 06 All decisions, parts, etc were done and time to "cripple" the car, meaning the next steps would immobilize it for a few months...but not without pay for what was already done and front money to get started. Never got it. Well, the punchline here is that after dozens of attempts to get it picked up and GONE, the ****in ***** even changed his phone# so I'd leave him alone. His position was that I should front the whole job and get paid later, like I was born yesterday. He was notified legally according to county and state law, an auction was held, and the car sold...in Aug 08. I think I was more than patient. FWIW, had I treated it as abandoned it would have to be pushed to the street and picked up by local law enforcement. The next step would be to purchase it at auction in an effort to get paid by re-selling later. It cost me $400 to sell it LEGALLY, and I got that + what it sold for.

People who disrespect what we do deserve NOTHING. Deserve EXACTLY what they give YOU regardless of the perceived relationship.

 

Gotta tow it to his driveway. Why spend money on attorney fees or get sideways with the City. The issues mentioned here, who has the ***le, etc. are all valid and make this the only option.