Towing Issues: towing/collections, city of woodburn, department of motor vehicles

Question
This question is relating to the state of oregon, and potentially the city of Woodburn.   So a few years ago my girlfriend owned a van. When the van broke her parents sold it for her and took care of everything, except a bill of sale. Now in 2006 the van got towed and racked up storage and towing fees. Apparently the new owner(s) never registered the van. Is she going to be responsible for those fees? And also what is the typical amount of time(or legal min.) before a vehicle can be sold? Also is the towing company responsible for contacting the owner of the vehicle?  

Answer
Lloyd,
I am not familiar with the laws in Oregon, however, in California the seller is required to submit a release of liability and a bill of sale to the Department of Motor Vehicles. If not, that seller could be liable for all the fees incurred even though they claim to have sold the vehicle. Those documents protect both the buyer and the seller. Also in California, the minimum time before a tow operator can sell a vehicle depends on the actual value of the vehicle. I hope this helps a bit.