Towing Issues: Sold car, got towed, I still own it?, duplicate title, vehic

Question
Hi. This is a question regarding a tow in Nebraska.

Two months ago, I sold a car to a private party.
Apparently, this person never registered it because I received a certified letter from a towing company (as I am the last registered owner) who towed it from the buyer's apartment complex at the property manager's request.

Since the buyer never registered it, it had been sitting in the parking lot with no plates for over a month.

So I went and got a duplicate title this week. I was just going to sign it over to the tower and wipe my hands of the situation, but the tower said he would rather give the car back to me for a few hundred dollars (a fraction of the towing bill) than try to collect from the buyer who is "probably not going to pay up".

The tower has informed me that they have the right to crush the car after 30 days but they cannot claim the title (to sell to satisfy a lien) until after 90 days. Since it's a perfectly good car, I would much rather they not crush it, but they don't want to keep it on the lot for two more months and will crush it unless I pick it up on day 31.

I know you can't give legal advice, but is this a situation that you have dealt with before? Is there any additional documentation I should demand from the tower?

Thanks in advance.  

Answer
Well the issue you are facing is normal due to the state laws in almost every state.

Now as the "last registered owner" they are going after who the DMV shows as the legal person to collect from. Now some states also have papers which are required to be filed by the vehicle owner when its sold that release them from any "legal responsibility" and as far as I can tell, Nebraska does not have this kind of paper (like California, New York and others)

Now I would talk to DMV and see what they say but I do not hold much faith in this working.
Do you have copies of the title - transfer of ownership paperwork you did with the buyer ?

Do you have the money to get the vehicle back out, after all you can sell it again if you want since the last person abandoned it basically.

Sorry but that is about the best answers I can give you. It does sound as if you are kind of stuck here.