Overhaulin'

Can I get a free car out of this deal?

I sold my 1984 Porsche 944 back in early winter to a kid that lives in St Paul, MN for cash. I signed the title over to him and we went our seperate ways. HOWEVER, today I got a letter from the St. Paul Police dept or w/e saying that my car has been towed and that I have 15 days until it can be auctioned off from the impound lot. Appearantly the kid never put the car in his name, and it still has my old plates and tags. The letter explains that I must show up and prove my identity (the one that the letter says the car is owned by) to get the car. Now I understand that there may be a tow charge and some other small fees or parking tickets to pay for, but... If I took care of it would it be mine again? I pay for everything and pick it up. What if I wait until the last day before it can be sold, then the kid obviously didn't have any intention of getting it back and might not even know that I was able to get it. He may just think that it was sold... Any thoughts or advice? If you have reputable experience to back up anything please let me know so that I can be sure, if not any thoughts are welcome :D The charge listed on the letter says $160 for the charge of the tow, and a $45 charge. And I have no way of contacting the kid as I dont have his number or email address anymore. And it doesn't help that I was cleaning the other day and found a spare key which I threw away...

Public Comments

1. I would wait and then repo the car.
2. Seems like that could end in quite a legal/court rat's nest... You should probably just contact the kid you sold it to if possible, and possibly take him to court so he can cover the tickets, etc. and maybe even get some kind of punitive out of it.
3. it's still in your name, so it's still your vehicle. pay the fees and recover it.
4. Careful about those "small" fees: the towing charge could be three figures, the impound fees add up by the day and could be thousands of dollars. Find out which company is keeping the car and how much those fees are. If you intend to pay them off to retrieve the car, do it asap. They could be far more than the car is worth, and they add up every day.