Dear Car Talk:
Recently, a policeman pulled over a young driver in a Chevy Sonic right near our house, which has on-street parking. Backup was called in case things got serious, which they did not. I don’t know what crimes might have been committed, but the young man was soon picked up by a third party, the police left the scene, and this car has been sitting near our house for over a week.
A close look through the windows indicates a lot of empty fast-food containers, pizza boxes, and CDs by artists whose names bring to mind medieval weapons. I did notice the lack of a license plate and a temporary tag that had expired two months ago. I believe the car is now abandoned. We contacted the police, but they said it is legally parked, and they can’t do anything.
An idea has occurred to me to help create a sense of urgency to remove the car: If I could roll it backward about 40 feet, it would be on the yellow part of the curb, which would make it illegally parked. Is there a way I can disengage the wheels or enter the car without doing (much) damage to it so I can put it in neutral and roll it? — Bob
Well, I can’t recommend you break into someone else’s car, Bob. That would be illegal. Even if there’s still uneaten pizza to be had.
So, I would start by calling your town or city and asking for their policy on abandoned vehicles. Most municipalities have one. They’ll consider a vehicle abandoned after it’s sat, unmoved, on a public street for a certain amount of time. And at that point, you can ask for it to be removed. That won’t be the quickest way to get rid of it, but it would be the most law-abiding.
Just for your information, we move cars at the garage all the time without driving them. We have something called a floor jack. It’s a hydraulic jack on wheels, and it rolls underneath the front or back end of the car and then lifts that entire end off the ground.
That Chevy Sonic is front-wheel-drive. So, theoretically, if you lifted up the front wheels with a floor jack, and the handbrake was not applied, you could then roll the car to wherever you want to. But I can’t, in good conscience, recommend you move another person’s car without their permission.
So, here’s plan B: Buy a can of yellow paint. And paint the curb next to the car yellow. Voila! Instant no-parking zone. Good luck, Bob.
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