2007 Scion tC for free...your thoughts?

[kozy]

My cousin (who lives 2 hours away) called me yesterday and had a proposition for me. Her roommate had skipped town, went AWOL. And to boot, he has warrants out for his arrest. Sounds like a heck of a guy, huh?
He left his car that his mommy and daddy bought for him sitting in her garage. It's a 2007 Scion tC with under 30,000 miles. The exterior of the car is spotless, looks like it did the day it was purchased.

Here's the bad news.
1. The front CV shafts are trashed. Broken. The car won't drive. They obviously need replacing, which isn't hard at all. Nor is it expensive.
2. There is also no key for it. It's easy enough to get a key for it.
3. The interior is also trashed. So I invest a bit of time into thoroughly cleaning the interior. Shampooing the carpets is probably a must. I might have to replace a part of two. Overall, it would cost next to nothing to have this car back in pristine driving condition.

All I have to do is go down there and tow the car back to my house. She doesn't even want money for the car. Just wants it gone. Well, her LANDLORD wants it gone. By the end of the week.
As long as I can get the VIN and make sure there isn't a lien on the title, the car wasn't reported stolen, and everything else checks out....I could make a killing by fixing it and selling the car to someone.

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?

 

[gamorg02]

do your homework. if it allc hecks out go for it! i'd resell it immediately b/c i don't like scions but hey to each their own. how are you going to get it 'sold' to you (titled) without a title tho?

 

[kozy]

I found out that the title is in this guy's parents' names. If I can contact them (all the way down in Texas) and convince them that the car is junk, they might sign the title over to me. I'll have to play it up real good though. Plus they are all the way in Texas. They would have no interest in a car that's almost on the other side of the country.

I would fix it and sell it right away. Hell, that would be a good downpayment on a new house! Or I could use it to pay off my college bills. Even though it's only 2 years old, it wouldn't be something that I would drive.

 

[Bill Seward]

Hey man, I drive a Daewoo!
A Scion would be a Caddilac to me. As much as I like the Woo, it is truly the bottom-feeder car of all time.

 

[4gasem]

A Scion is a Toyota! You can't beat a Toyota for reliability. The TC is actually a cool looking car IMO.

Just make sure it has oil in the engine. If it's that beat I doubt the engine oil was changed often or at all...

Chris

 

[medic981]

I'd say so long as you get the dip shit's parents to sign the title over to you, go for it. Best of luck.

 

[dannymax]

I'd say so long as you get the dip shit's parents to sign the title over to you, go for it. Best of luck.

+1 I'd say the title's the key to this deal.....might not hurt to tell the parents it looks like the car is going to be towed and prolly'll start accumulating storage charges...etc.

You're sure junior didn't go slinking back to mommy, right? Might queer the deal if he's listening on the extension line. :confused2:

Good luck!!

 

[Slacker]

If you can't get the cleared title from the rightful owner, I'd have the landlord call to have it hauled off. You might end up with your hooter in a ringer. 'Freedom' 1st, if you understand what I mean. My 3 cents.

 

[kozy]

I got the VIN for this car, and ran it through a VIN Decoder online and through a free site I found that tells you if the car has been listed as a lemon, salvage title, or stolen. It all checks out.
And I got the address of his parents in Texas and even the name of the business that sold them the car. Hopefully I'll be able to dig up a phone number for the parents and give them a ring!

And in reply to many posters above who mentioned towing companies.....why would I let a towing company take possession of the car and let THEM make money off of it. I could definitely use the money right now, especially considering our planned move cross-country to Phoenix in the next few months!
Plus......$10K would go a LONG way in modding my Vmax!!!!!!!

 

[Slacker]

Well, in the 1st word of my post, "if". 'If' you can't get proper documentation, clearing for you to haul off/ touch the car, from the actual owners or from the court system/ laws that apply... It's your gamble. Just being realistic. I could ask my neighbor to come and get your car because you left for a while and no one knows where you are? This is what I'm getting at. I guess you could just take the thing, fix it up, apply for a title, then see what happens.:rofl_200: Just kidding! Don't do that!

 

[kozy]

Well, in the 1st word of my post, "if". 'If' you can't get proper documentation, clearing for you to haul off/ touch the car, from the actual owners or from the court system/ laws that apply... It's your gamble. Just being realistic. I could ask my neighbor to come and get your car because you left for a while and no one knows where you are? This is what I'm getting at. I guess you could just take the thing, fix it up, apply for a title, then see what happens.:rofl_200: Just kidding! Don't do that!

Hahahaha yeah....I've always wondered what it's like to spend time in jail! lol


I am going to call them and if my story is convincing enough and they want to give up the car, I will need a title signed over to me as well as a bill of sale that's been filled out, signed by them, AND notarized. As my boss always tells me, C.Y.A.!!!

 

[zippo6]

Hahahaha yeah....I've always wondered what it's like to spend time in jail! lol


I am going to call them and if my story is convincing enough and they want to give up the car, I will need a title signed over to me as well as a bill of sale that's been filled out, signed by them, AND notarized. As my boss always tells me, C.Y.A.!!!

Keep us posted on how this works our for you!
:biglaugh::eusa_dance:

 

[[email protected]]

Sorry to say it man but IMO it sounds like a bad karma move. I'm not really into those kinds of beliefs but doing something like this has got to bring some kind of bad ju ju your way.

If your looking to make some money on it I would be more up front with this kids parents. Tell them what happened. Their kid is awol, the car is going to be towed and most likely impounded and someone will be paying for towing,storage, etc.

Let them know that their son had done some damage and it is not driveable at the moment. It needs some work, the interior needs done, etc.

Ask them if they would be interested in signing the car over to you to avoid losing their ass on impound fees and towing, and repairs. You will fix it and restore the interior and handle the sale of the car.

When all that is complete you will give them a percentage of the sale.

It would be a win-win for both. You would get paid for an easy job. They would get out of the car and make a little money instead of losing money, and the landlord get the car off his property.

I believe those that live their life trying to look at how they get the most for THEMSELVES out of situations are the ones that end up being poor (not just money wise). Those that think about, and try to help others will have more riches in life. (less likely to go to jail too!:biglaugh

$0.02

 

[gamorg02]

yea i'd say CYA x2 for this one. i'd back off it at any point there is a hiccup. just too much shit to worry about.

 

[Jules]

mabdcm does have a good point. I'd be too chicken sh!t to do such a thing lol. I'd be upfront and tell them but I wouldn't mention anything about giving them part of the sales unless they seem to be iffy over the phone. Try to win them over and get all sappy w/ them if you must!

 

[kozy]

mabdcm does have a good point. I'd be too chicken sh!t to do such a thing lol. I'd be upfront and tell them but I wouldn't mention anything about giving them part of the sales unless they seem to be iffy over the phone. Try to win them over and get all sappy w/ them if you must!

I am a VERY good bullshitter, so once the time comes that I can actually call them, I will at least be comfortable doing it! lol
I really don't want to call them though. The weirdness of that situation is almost making me NOT want to pursue this car. I tried to get my lawyer to do it for me and he wouldn't. Jerk.
Maybe I can find a friend who's going to school for law....they would be able to talk their way through it!

 

[kozy]

UPDATE:

I went to look at the car. My dumbass never thought to take a jack with me. From what I could see, the wheels look like they are broken off of the A-arms. If I had a damn jack, I could have seen for sure what the problem was. Apparently the kid was driving drunk and managed to drive head-on into 2 curbs. So that explains the damage there. The rims and tires would need replacing. The tires up front are blown, and the rears are bald. Some of the rims have gouges in them too.

The inside of the car smelled worse than a damn landfill. There are 2 spots where the seats were used as ashtrays. There is mold on the back of the passenger seat as well as the passenger door panel. Someone sprayed beer everywhere inside the car and since the car sat for so long closed up, mold appeared. Aside from needing a VERY THOROUGH cleaning inside (and lots of Febreze and air fresheners) it's still in new shape.

The outside of the car is fine. It's really dirty, but nothing that a car wash wouldn't fix.
There is no key for it, but I can have one made from the VIN. That's easy also.

My cousin gave me the kid's cell number. I called it, and got no answer. She called it, left a message, and he called back saying that he isn't going to sign over the car to me. Little does he know, the car isn't titled in his name so he has no say in that.

I'm still going to try contacting his parents (hopefully they speak English) and see if I can't convince them to sign it over.
I heard something along the lines of if the car is towed and within 30 days no one has claimed the car that I can apply for an abandoned title for it. I'm not sure about the validity of that though. Anyone know?

 

[gamorg02]

what language might u need help with?

 

[kozy]

I believe that they are Vietnamese.

 

[clintard]

sounds very dishonest and shady to me. What would you do if someone pulled some shit like this on your parents? No doubt the kid sounds like a real loser, but i bet mommy and daddy are decent working americans and will have to pay the rest of the loan off they cosigned for while you make bank and take advantage of them. Karma is a bitch and money isnt everything.

If your "cousin" knows a way to get in contact with his parents then why not be honest and contact the parents and give a deadline for them to have the car removed? Maybe charge them for storage and hassle.

In my opinion you pull your little stunt and your no better than the kid who drove the car. Id call you a thief