1968 Charger in storage being held hostage!

[OriginalOwner]

New user, sounds funny as I have been in this car my entire life.

Regardless, my 68' Charger although battle wounded on the exterior (And hence put into storage for a major hit to the driver's rear while parked, different story) is, for the most part, all original (And owner) and the interior is practically mint besides carpet and driver's seat.

The car is in storage, my father made the arrangements with what seemed a mutual friend, who never had a contract (besides verbal), or sent him a bill. The agreed upon amount for storage was to be $25 a month. It took some detective work to track him down and a new phone number later, as well as a trip to a rental prop, I got him on the phone only to say it was $75 a month. After eight to ten years that adds up to approximately $8,000 as opposed to maybe $3,000.. That is a lot of money to buy my own car back..!

My question is, does anyone have any ideas, attorneys or want to steal it back for me (Hah)? I actually thought of going up occasionally to get it drivable again, then take it for a test drive and gas and basically, drive it home.
Does he have any rights as far as current ownership of the car, being that he "has" it in storage, but we have the car in our name (I thought I would put myself as secondary owner, as my father is 85).

Please, and I can't stress this enough, PLEASE, I absolutely LOVE this car, and always dreamed of the day i had enough money to make it brand new again.

if anyone can help, or offer any suggestions, this was my daily driver for a LONG time, I replaced the entire cooling system, trans, rims, tires, exhaust, wiring harnesses, electrical, brakes (Disc even)  and can't imagine life without this car back in my possession or family. It may help to know he also has a 79' Mercedes in his warehouse that he was either selling or parting out for us and was supposed to be dividing the profits from that as well.

Thank you..

Ryan

[JB400]

Welcome
To
The Forum

I would suggest you make friends with a lawyer.  Did you make any payments on storage at any point of time?  Proof of any payments?  I  could also suggest you split the difference with the guy, and pay $50 a month, and get your car out. 

First, and foremost, I'd make sure he still has your car and it's in the same condition you left it in.  Make sure he didn't part it, or already sell it.  It is possible to claim it as an abandoned vehicle, depending on state laws.

[OriginalOwner]

Haha, That is kind of what I thought in the long run was talking to an attorney.

We hadn't made any payments, never received a bill..

That was basically the first thing I thought was to go up and see the car, make sure it's still there and in the same condition, and pull out the old gas, add a battery etc.
It is in a warehouse so I doubt you could claim it as an abandoned vehicle though, especially with two people's testimony to the story against just his.
But I basically could have paid $50 a month in my same condo complex and been able to see the car every day as well..

I thought he could take the Mercedes and sell it for the difference (Worth $11K - $25K)..

But thanks!

[Mytur Binsdirti]

You love this (damaged) car, but you left it in storage for 8-10 years without paying a dime in storage fees on it? Something doesn't add up.

I may be wrong, but the cynic in me thinks that you abandoned it and now see that even wrecks are worth a lot of money & now you're trying to get it back so you can cash in on it.

[Mike DC]

            


Ask to see the car in person again before you give the guy another dime.  Do it nicely and be willing to give him a week or so to find a convenient time if the car is not at his home.  If he gives you any resistance about seeing it, prepare yourself for the possibility that he sold/parted it and start looking for a lawyer. 

[68 RT]

You love this (damaged) car, but you left it in storage for 8-10 years without paying a dime in storage fees on it? Something doesn't add up.

I may be wrong, but the cynic in me thinks that you abandoned it and now see that even wrecks are worth a lot of money & now you're trying to get it back so you can cash in on it.

Exactly, something does not add up?

[Charger-Bodie]

Why not just cal the police?

[OriginalOwner]

Mytur -

That is literally the single stupidest answer anyone could have come up with.

The car is not in my name, I had no idea that my father had not received a bill, nor paid anything to the storage owner. As well I figured I would spend a few hundred grand restoring it to its former glory, and as you know money definitely grows on trees..

Cash in on it, moronic.. I will never sell this car, please read a post thoroughly before responding.

Yeah, so absolutely right, I see the value in selling an old pile of metal, but insistently am not ever going to sell the car, good luck with that retort.

Anyway, thanks for nothing, people, I am only asking for help in retrieving a vehicle, not moronic responses to an obvious plight.
If we could leave the responses to anyone with help that would be greatly appreciated.

Mytur - Hah.

Mike DC - That is almost exactly what I kind of planned to do. Thanks.

Charger-Bodie - Thought of that too, what would transpire then though?

[Charger-Bodie]

I would tell the police your side now, so they are aware if things are sideways with the guy

[RECHRGD]

Hmmmm, I just finished a reply to this and it vaporized.  Anyway, my main point is that with little or no communication with this guy for years, it is easily argued that the car was abandoned.  That may have been on his mind from the start.  A messy situation.  Good luck......

[OriginalOwner]

Rechrgd - I had actually called him quite a few times to get some articles out of the trunk at some point, so there wasn't a complete lack of communication, and kept planning to go up there (As I had no idea where there was/is) but see your point, Thanks.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Mytur -

That is literally the single stupidest answer anyone could have come up with.

The car is not in my name, I had no idea that my father had not received a bill, nor paid anything to the storage owner. As well I figured I would spend a few hundred grand restoring it to its former glory, and as you know money definitely grows on trees..

Cash in on it, moronic.. I will never sell this car, please read a post thoroughly before responding.

Yeah, so absolutely right, I see the value in selling an old pile of metal, but insistently am not ever going to sell the car, good luck with that retort.

Anyway, thanks for nothing, people, I am only asking for help in retrieving a vehicle, not moronic responses to an obvious plight.
If we could leave the responses to anyone with help that would be greatly appreciated.

Mytur - Hah.

Mike DC - That is almost exactly what I kind of planned to do. Thanks.

Charger-Bodie - Thought of that too, what would transpire then though?

Well then, it sounds like you have all the answers before you posted.    



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zANvYB93u2g

[OriginalOwner]

Mytur,

Better than your useless retort..

[Lennard]

Mytur,

Better than your useless retort..

@ OriginalOwner: Ignore the trolls.

[Baldwinvette77]

im not sure how it works over there but over here if theres no signed paper work or receipts then all you would need is a sheriff or a bailiff to get your car back, which costs around $800 or so

[John_Kunkel]

Why is your father not involved in this? Is he still on speaking terms with storage owner?

Without a written contract I'd say you're in the same situation as Hogan's goat....i.e. screwed.

[OriginalOwner]

Lennard - Haha.. 

Baldwinvette77 - Where is here?

John_Kunkel - He is 85 years old.. He's working on staying alive, not fixing my problems. Semi, working on it.

[Old Moparz]

Not exactly the same scenario, but I had a car in a shop many years ago for body work. The shop worked on the car, screwed it up, then did not touch it for 3 months after having discussed some of the shoddy work that needed to be redone on it. I spoke to a lawyer I knew & he said the first thing I needed to do was get the car out of the shop ASAP. I went to the shop the next day, got the car out of the building & two weeks later the Fire Marshall shut the place down for several code violations. He never reopened after that & all the cars that were in there, about 20 or so, went into the fenced in yard of another shop behind this one. I heard later that people who had cars there had to pay extremely high storage fees to get their cars back.  

While this is not quite the exact same scenario as yours, the thing that is the same is that you may not have a choice with paying the storage fees if you want to retrieve the car. More than likely you will have to pay them & argue later about the difference. If you wait, the fees will multiply & may even increase from $75. You're also giving the guy time to talk to his own lawyer to figure out how to tack on additional fees besides storage.

Whatever you say to the guy or do, try to be as civil as possible. He has the upper hand so pissing him off is a bad idea.  

[RECHRGD]

If there was an agreed to amount per month for the storage, why did your Dad not pay?  Why didn't the storage owner demand payment when none was forthcoming?  Something is screwy here.  Maybe your Dad took the lack of payment requests as a unspoken agreement of free storage.  I doubt the storage guy, even ten years ago, was unaware that these cars were increasing in value.  In his mind the nonpayment for storage could be considered a forfeiture of the property.  The car may be long gone by now or titled in his name via some legal loophole in your State.  You need to go and see the car with your own two eyes and proceed as the circumstances dictate......

[Old Moparz]

If there was an agreed to amount per month for the storage, why did your Dad not pay?  Why didn't the storage owner demand payment when none was forthcoming?  Something is screwy here.  Maybe your Dad took the lack of payment requests as a unspoken agreement of free storage.  I doubt the storage guy, even ten years ago, was unaware that these cars were increasing in value.  In his mind the nonpayment for storage could be considered a forfeiture of the property.  The car may be long gone by now or titled in his name via some legal loophole in your State.  You need to go and see the car with your own two eyes and proceed as the circumstances dictate......

I agree but there are rare exceptions. I actually stored 2 of my cars in a place for several years before I had my garage that didn't require payment until you picked it up. While I was building my garage I didn't have to pay & they sat longer.  

The guy was very nice, only took people's cars or boats through word of mouth by others who rented there. It was mostly used for seasonal storage, October to March, but the timing for me had my cars there for almost 2 full years. The price was good, $35 per month per car but the drawback was that I had to hand over a large sum all at once. Surprisingly he discounted my fee by about $500 which helped. No written contract, just a verbal agreement, but I paid by check with car storage fee written on it for my records.

[odcics2]

You love this (damaged) car, but you left it in storage for 8-10 years without paying a dime in storage fees on it? Something doesn't add up.

I may be wrong, but the cynic in me thinks that you abandoned it and now see that even wrecks are worth a lot of money & now you're trying to get it back so you can cash in on it.

Visit the guy in person.  Bring some $$.  Bring a trailer.  Bring a few buddies.
You should be able to come to an understanding.

[Edelbroke]

I'm assuming you have a clear title for the car. If he wont release it after you come to an agreement on storage fees or cant come to an agreement, report the car stolen. Should be able to retrieve it with a police officer. He would then have to release the car or start the process for a storage lien (which he may already have done).  I think without him having a storage lien already on it you should be able to take the car and settle the storage fees in court if he pushes it that far. I wouldn't try taking the car out of his building, that might be breaking and entering.

[Dano 1]

I agree with those who have suggested getting the authorities involved as early as possible and making sure they hear YOUR story FIRST.

Without having a contract neither of you can prove that any agreement was in place or broken. As long as you have the title of the car free and clear, even if it's in your father's name you can prove your relationship and he can sign the title over to your or a document to authorize you to act on his behalf due to medical issues.  it shouldn't matter where the car is located IMO, I'm not sure what the laws of abandonment are but again it seems that law enforcement personnel would be your best route here...

[CDN72SE]

You just need to tread lightly, as suggested you need to go and see the car and take money with you. Unfortunately you cannot go back and fix the improper way this has been handled over all these years but you still should have a chance to get your car back. Keep us posted as to how you are doing.

[krops cars]

Why don't you just go there see if the guy is there. You may have to go a few times. Talk to him ask to see it. Like every one said be calm. Just tell him you want to see what you need to get it out of there. Tires, battery and what ever. After you see your car then talk about the price and the other car he was getting rid of. It may not be as bad as it seems until you meet him face to face. Do not do it over the phone or texting. That usually does not go very well.