Towed from friend's driveway in trailer park.

[Ozark_Sophist]

You could always sue your friend in small claims court. You entrusted property into her care with her permission. She probably did get notice about the truck. But that wouldn't be nice.

I used to own a trailer on a rented lot. Had a nice sports car I rarely drove (insurance was $300 a month for that car alone and I used the car only in the summer--ever try to drive a mid-engine rear wheel drive car on ice?) and management kept after me about it. I would move it around my parking area--sometimes back it in or whatever.

 

[divona2000]

Thank you.

Zigner
“For a person who can't come up with money to pay for repairs for 5 months...yes, it's expensive.”
Zigner, you are completely right…but that is the financial difference between 2002, when I, a married (self-employed) woman, family income of $70,000, bought the truck ($19,000), and 2007, a past middle age ex-wife, income of $12,000 (no alimony) struggling to support myself. Selling wasn’t an option, I use the truck for work (2 jobs), getting to work (2 more jobs), and would have had to bring money to the table to cover the difference between sale price and amount owed. (Total cost for all repairs is $1,470).

Blonde Lebinese
“What ever floats your boat , but getting snippy with volunteers will get you nowhere.
You're going to pay the bill to get your non expensive vehicle back . End of story.”
Snippy? Puzzled OP re-reading her posts…I am sorry if you thought so, I wasn’t trying to be, I just believe that most trucks today cost more that that.

las365
“My suspicion would be that your friend did get notices about moving the truck or it would be towed, but didn't tell you about them. Now, yeah, oh, she does have some small recollection about some kind of parking rules…”
Ozark Sophist
“You could always sue your friend in small claims court. You entrusted property into her care with her permission. She probably did get notice about the truck. But that wouldn't be nice.”
las365 & Ozark, yes, you are both right. I called the park manager, Mark (turns out our families have been acquainted for years). Mark says he warned my friend 4 or 5 times to remove the truck…she never told me. He said he would never had had it towed if he knew it was mine-she did not tell him. She did not tell me that vehicles must be registered with the park office or that the police had been there!
The tow company (once they confirmed the situation), gave me a discount, I paid the bill yesterday, and they even towed it to a mechanic for me! Very nice people.
However, they did state that neither they nor the landlord (park manager/owner) are required by law to notify me of the towing/impounding, and that they had already begun paperwork with the police to auction the truck!
I am still trying to find out if they are legally able to remove and sell an auto without at least attempting to contact the owner.
“Posted notice is not required if the vehicle owner has been given personal notice that the vehicle is parked in an unauthorized area and is subject to towing.” michigan.gov
Thank you very much to all who replied.

 

[moburkes]

Yes, they can tow, but notice was given. Yes, they can auction it when it is not claimed, and the tow/storage bill is growing.

I thought you previously said that the vehicle was worth $23k.

 

[divona2000]

further questions...

Yes, they can tow, but notice was given. Yes, they can auction it when it is not claimed, and the tow/storage bill is growing. I thought you previously said that the vehicle was worth $23k.

Moburkes, thank you for your reply,
Hmmm, kind of a Catch-22...notice was given, but NOT to the vehicle owner...
How can one claim a vehicle if the owner is not notified of WHERE it is? Can't pay a towing/storage bill that is never sent.
Isn't there any time limit on how long they must hold the auto before it can be auction? They began the sale process after only 14 days.

The list price at the time I bought it was $25,000. My Dad was retired GM, so I got a huge discount on the Chevy, and he had $500 GM new car credit, I put $500 cash down, financed $19,000.

 

[moburkes]

They gave notice to the owner of the property that the vehicle in the driveway was going to be towed. Sue your friend, if you feel the need to.

 

[las365]

I called the park manager, Mark (turns out our families have been acquainted for years). Mark says he warned my friend 4 or 5 times to remove the truck…she never told me.

That's a shame, one would assume she knew how to reach you. So, it is also my opinion that your redress would be against her. I don't think the park manager or towing company has a duty to do research to determine ownership* - the manager had properly warned the tenant. At least the manager and towing company were decent in the way they treated you when you got in touch with them.

(*aside: Can just anyone even do that anymore? I remember in the olden days, you could pay a couple of bucks and get the name and address of the owner from the county clerk using the license plate number, but in my state I think they have changed the law to make it much more difficult to get that info.)

So your decision is whether to sue your friend. Again just my opinion, it's probably not worth it in the long run. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate! Best of luck to you in the future.

 

[OHlandlord]

If a vehicle that is not my tenants is parked on my rental property and I am going to have it towed, I can call the police and they will run the tag number for me. They will not give me the name or address of the owner, but will contact him for me to have it removed prior to towing. (Perhaps this is because I have a tenant who is the Captain that runs the county jail, but I've seen them do this for other LLs too.) However, I am under no obligation to determine whose truck it is prior to towing. I only have to warn my tenant that it has to be moved. It is the tenant's responsibility to contact her friend and have the vehicle removed if they dont want it towed.