Towing Issues: where did my car go?, local police department, certified mail

Question
QUESTION: So, I bought a car for very cheap and about 2 months having it, the oil was leaking very badly and the hood was smoking like crazy and I managed to get it to a Cherry Hill, NJ parking lot.  I did leave it there for a while, maybe a month, and one day I went by and it was gone! Not that I want the thing back, but where did it go?  Obviously it got towed, but I got nothing in the mail or anything like that to let me know where it went!!  How do I find out? And am I supposed to be notified in any way about this?  The possibility of it getting stolen still runs through my head.. should I do anything about this?

ANSWER: Well as a general rule, if the vehicle is registered to you at your correct address then you "SHOULD" be notified via certified mail which also depends on specific City or State laws regarding this...

Reason I say City, is that in some cases when the vehicle is ordered towed by the police, they do the notifications at times...

Now there are also issues with vehicles being towed by "junkyard tow trucks" and crushed and such... Yes this amounts to GRAND THEFT AUTO and while you would think it would not be very common it is very common due to the high prices of scrap...

Was the vehicle registered in your name, or did you not transfer the title ?

Check with the local police department and see if they have any record of it being towed... That or go check out the parking lot for any signs up from a tow company... Call the people who own the parking lot and ask if they had the car towed, they might tell you where it is...

And yes you will have a tow bill which as the owner you are responsible for paying..


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Police said they had no record, I did have it registered in my name and never got mail to my home.  Nothing to notify me, no tow bill either! Most likely it got stolen and scrapped. I was just worried that maybe I could get in trouble for not turning license plates in!!  I guess I should call the DMV and tell them that the vehicle went missing??

Answer
yeah that sounds like a good idea, that and report it stolen to the police.   You might not ever see it again, but hey they might manage to find it someplace and that might help prosecute the criminals...

Good luck and sorry to hear about it coming up missing.