[astro]

I just moved to the UK for uni and found a nice bmw which appears to have been sitting and unused for at least a year. The MOT status has expired and the tax expires on the 1st of October.

I have never tried this so I'd like to know if it's possible to claim an abandoned car and if so, how would I go about it? Its licence number matches the record. I heard that the finder of an abandoned vehicle can claim ownership if the owner doesn't respond after a certain amount of time.

Also, would there be any significant costs to doing so. Would the DVLA take it and auction it instead?

Its a bmw with parking tickets so old that the paper decayed, the interior is undamaged and had 2 minor accidents but appears to be fixed.

[TC1474]

Firstly, a vehicles may be considered abandoned if it is:

• Untaxed
• Has no valid MOT
• Has been stationary for a long time
• Is significantly damaged, run down, or un-roadworthy
• Burnt out
• Has flat tires
• Has mould on the inside or outside
• Contains waste

Secondly, the vehicle may have been used in a crime. You should not enter or touch an abandoned vehicle. Ideally you should inform the police so that they can do follow up enquiries maybe with the registered keeper.

You can then ask the Police, DVLA or local authority if they can track down the owner of the car so you can enquire about taking ownership of it.

Keep tabs on the car, if the DVLA can't track down the owner then the chances are, the car will be towed by an approved recovery agency and the towing company will auction it off to the highest bidder or put it through an auction.

In my experience of dealing with abandoned vehicles the process can take weeks, sometimes months and the costs of the recovery and storage, getting it back on the road, making it roadworthy, insured, taxed and a set of keys for the vehicle are more considerably more than the value of the vehicle and a lot more hassle than buying an honest vehicle through a dealer or private seller with all the paperwork and keys available from the off.