What Legally Happens When You Abandon a Car in the Hudson Valley?

Can you just walk away from a car? We're talking, get all of your stuff out of it, take the plates off, scrape off the registration and inspection sticker, heck, even leave the keys in it. Yep, that kind of walk away, of course legally it is considered abandonment of your vehicle.

So what does New York define as an abandoned vehicle? One that has been unattended for at least 96 hours, on property that the owners did not give their permission to have it there.

If you are faced with having one of these cars on your property or the ones that I continue to see are just left, sitting in parking lots, what do you do? The short of it is that you need to call the local police.

You will need to report it, just in case it has been stolen, and then dumped. If it has been stolen, then they will come and bring it back to impound for holding. If they decide not to do anything with it, and you want it gone, then what do you do? According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, you can get rid of it through a vehicle dismantler.

To cover all your bases, before you give it to the tow person, they will have you fill out a piece of paper, with as much info on it as you know. The car needs to have a value of less than $1200, been on your property at least 30 days and is at least 10 years old. You can donate the car or see it to the scrap yard, your choice, but make sure to call the cops and report it first, for your legal liability.