Filing abandoment on a vehicle?

[jvm]

Hi. A co-worker of my hubby's told him that they had a car that was supposed to be repod and the bank never came and got it. They said that they went and filed an abandoment case with the DMV and was able to get the lien on the title removed (after giving the bank some time to repo it, which they didnt) and then was able to legally keep the vehicle.

Has anyone ever heard of this?? SOunds Crazy!

[LadyInTheRed]

I haven't heard of doing it through the DMV, but I have heard of people needing to get a court order to force a lender to either take the collateral or release the lien. It sounds like your state has a process that allows you to do it without going to court. Sounds like a very sane way to deal with a situation where the lender doesn't want the car because it isn't worth the cost, but refuses to release the lein hoping to get paid.

[jvm]

Hmmm
..i wonder how long one would need to wait before filing abandoment....

[LadyInTheRed]

I did a little research. Here's the form that may have been used http://motor.etax.dor.ga.gov/forms/p...orm_MV603A.pdf. It sounds like your hubby's co-worker got creative. I don't think the abandonment statute is designed to allow the owner of the car to get out from under a lien. You can find other forms related to vehicle abandonment at http://motor.etax.dor.ga.gov/forms/motor.aspx.

I also found this which is interesting and may be helpful if your car is old enough:

(c) Except for liens and security interests listed on certificates of title for mobile homes, cranes, or vehicles which weigh more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, which shall be satisfied only in conformity with subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section, any lien or security interest for a vehicle which is 11 model years old or less shall be considered satisfied and release shall not be required after ten years from the date of issuance of a title on which such lien or security interest is listed. For a vehicle which is 12 model years old and greater, any lien or security interest shall be considered satisfied and a release shall not be required after four years from the date of issuance of a title on which such lien or security interest is listed. None of the provisions of this Code section shall preclude the perfection of a new lien or security agreement, or the perfection of an extension of a lien or security agreement beyond a period of ten years for a vehicle which is 11 model years old or less or beyond a period of more than four years for a vehicle which is 12 model years old or greater, by application for a new certificate of title on which such lien or security agreement is listed. In order to provide for the continuous perfection of a lien or security interest originally entered into for a period of more than ten years for a vehicle which is 11 model years old or less or more than four years for a vehicle which is 12 model years old and greater, other than a mobile home, crane, or vehicle which weighs more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, an application for a second title on which the lien or security interest is listed must be submitted to the commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized tag agent before ten years from the date of the original title on which such lien or security interest is listed. Otherwise the lien or security interest shall be perfected as of the date of receipt of the application by the commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent.

O.C.G.A. § 40-3-56(c)