Hello, this may not be the right forum for this question but here goes, I used to own a 1975 F100 Ranger XLT. I stopped driving the vehicle 30 plus years ago and left it on my parents acerage. They moved 20 years ago and when they moved I made it clear to them that the truck was not part of the sale and I still wanted it cause I had plans for it. I have talked to the owners of the acerage recently and was told the vehicle was still there and does run but it's not driveable. I asked them if I could possibly "have it back" with no response. My question is has anybody come across this and who would rightly have claim to the truck? Do I have to buy it back from the current property owner? The truck is in Alberta, Canada if that helps and it don't think they could register it unless they have a bill of sale which I have never signed.

 

The truck was left for twenty years?

 

They could very well charge you storage. If you leave a vehicle unattended on private property for a certain length of time, it is considered abandoned and the property owner has rights to it in some parts of the US. In Canada, there may be a difference.

 

20 years? Really? You're just getting around to it NOW?

Sheez...

 

I know 20 years is a long time, but I moved to northern Canada where taking it was impossible as the location was fly in only and when I moved back south it was further away from the vehicle and my parents had moved during my absence. They probably didn't believe me that I still wanted the truck but I reminded them every time I talked to them. They claim that they never got the message. The truck was the first vehicle I bought with my own money and we had been through a lot. Blown engine, transmission, engine swap, hiway accidents. I just wondered if it's considered abandoned and what the time frame would be to consider it "abandoned". I may have to buy it back from the property owners.

 

Plan on buying it back and be happy they didn't scrap it. Maybe, if they are generous enough, they may not kill you on the cost.

 

"Left it on my parents acreage" and "made it clear to them ... I still wanted it." This doesn't make any sense. What did you expect them to do?

 

I'm gonna have to say that is not a question for this forum. This is a question for a lawyer or the local tax collector or something. Really, I guess the bottom line is, how big of a jerk is the property ower? He's the one that is going to make this hard or easy for you. Get as much legal knowledge as possible before you talk to him again.

 

I would guess if you went to the current owners and said "what do you think is a fair price for that truck?". They would fork it over pretty cheap.That would eliminate all the legal crap. Considerate it your cost for them care-taking of it for you. Good luckl! Gary

 

I would consider 20 years abandoned.

 

I agree. Guess it will come down to the property owners' understanding.

 

Thanks for responding,
Tedster9, I guess I expected them to tell the new owners that the truck belonged to me and wasn't part of the sale, but they didn't. It was actually left behind a fence just off our property. When I talked to my parents the other day that's where they said it was left. I had to call the people that live there now on an unrelated matter and ended up talking about the "old home" and how much it has or hasn't changed. I asked if the truck was still there or was it scrapped and sent to the crusher? They told me that it still runs and was behind the garage so they had moved it at some point from the bushes to the garage. They don't drive it because it was still full of the stuff that my dad had put into the box and the cab. Mostly house scraps and construction waste.

SlikWillie, thanks I sort of figured it wasn't the right forum. I guess I was wondering if anybody had gone through the same type of situation regarding reclaiming a vehicle or even finding one on their property. I will definitely try to find some legal way to attack this. I'm not desperate for the truck but it would be nice to have it to tinker around on. The old fords were easy to work on, no computers to mess with, all you needed was fuel spark and air. As I recall most things on the fords were handled with a 1/2 in wrench.

vtpkrat2, I think that's probably exactly what I'm gonna do. I know his wife doesn't think he will do anything with it so it may be an easy bargaining tool, but then again maybe he is in love with it too. I have been looking at all the 75 fords on the web, I even found the same paint colours and it kind of made me yearn for my truck back. I guess if it doesn't work out then that's the way the ball rolls. Life goes on!

gatorfor88, I guess I would too if it was left that long on my property so I shouldn't be surprised.

1995F150XLT, I think Your right it's all about how he sees the situation and if he and I can agree on the state of affairs?




Thanks for responding all, if I do get it I will be back for lots of advice! Actually I think I will hang around and enjoy the site, lots of cool stuff here!

 

By all means. I hope you can bargain with him and get your truck back. If he is cool guy and understands your story then he might sell it to you for cheap, unless of course, like you mentioned, he fell in love with it.. which might not surprise me either. Good luck!

 

I am not sure about Canadian law, but do you have the title for it, in your name? That will give you the proof of ownership. And then power to move forward with getting it back.

 

I used to switch the insurance between my mustang in the summer and the truck in the winter so when I parked it the vehicle would have still been registered to me but not insured and If I remember correctly it wasn't exactly road worthy. The pink slip would have been left in the glove box with my name still on it. Usually to transfer ownership when you sell it you sign the back of the registration slip and present that to the DMV for new plates. That usually passes as a bill of sale. I am pretty sure that I never signed anything over. I rescued a VW bug from my father in laws farm and I asked how to register it since it had been sitting for 15 years. I was told I needed to have a bill of sale or proof that the owner passed away. Like I said I was just wondering if anybody has had any similar experiences. I know the pink slip will still have my name on it so just wondering if I would still be able to claim the vehicle or has it been too long to claim it or should I just forget about it and move on. I think I will still try and maybe over a "coffee" we can come to an agreement.