This is not exactly the typical roadside automotive kill in 2018. Ralf K. (Don Kincl) found this ’62 Buick Special convertible abandoned by the side of the road in Auburn, WA. presumably someone got tired of it sitting in their side yard. But they left the plates on?
Obviously it’s a bit worse for wear. Looks to me like it was someone’s parts car.
Probably couldn’t great the plates off. What a weird thing to see!
Poor little guy, it’s like seeing an abused malnourished stray dog on the side of the road. These pictures need to be accompanied by sad sarah mclachlan music!
“You can help this poor car. Your gift of $50,000 and thousands of hours can really make a difference…”
QOTD.
+1 ( a day late)
Now I’m thinking that David Saunders moved way too soon on that Innocenti.
lol
I like the vintage snow tire on the right rear.
With four flat tires, none of which look like they’d hold air, I wonder how they were able to drag the thing to this location. Surely, they didn’t go to the trouble and expense of towing, let alone flat-bedding it. In fact, you’d think it would have been much easier and simpler to just call a scrapyard. With metal to China going for a reasonable price these days, don’t those guys pick up junk cars for free?
OTOH, with the current US/world trade situation, maybe shipping scrap metal overseas is no longer a viable option. Or maybe the previous owner had some sort of delusional idea that someone would rescue/restore it.
There are people who will pay you to drag your car away around here because of the scrap metal value.
Of course for that to happen they are going to need a title and I’m guessing the lack there of is why this got drug out to the side of the road.
The person who ditched it probably bought it but never transferred the title. Some poor previous owner may be in for a surprise.
When ever I sell an old car, one of the conditions is that we go to a title transfer office to put the title in the new owner’s name. I have ever offered to pay the transfer fee. If they are reluctant, then there is NO sale!!😠😠
As long as the seller sends in the notice of sale, that is a perforated flap of Washington titles since the 70’s at least, they will be off the hook. Or you can do it online.
No such system in my state. If the title is altered in any way, shape, form, or fashion, it automatically becomes VOID!!! Then you need to go to the DMV to get a replacement (several days and some money) in order to sell the car. Its a bit complex and there are folks who will take advantage of the situation.
I’ve heard of too many horror stories of sellers getting notices of unpaid parking tickets or other issues. Soooo much easier to pay the transfer fee and get it off your plate.
Somebody may have bought it a long time ago with the idea of restoring it but never got around to it and simply ditched it. Not far from where I live there was a Datsun 2000 that sat in really forlorn condition for several years-I went by the house one day and it was gone. Someone might be able to salvage a few parts off the Buick-maybe.
“Every car has a story.” This one’s a sad one…
With all four tires (if it’s fair to still call those things tires) flat, that poor Special didn’t roll there on a tow rope. It must have literally come off the back of a truck. But did it jump or was it pushed?
Sort of like a locked-room mystery. The gravel forms pretty good tracks, but there aren’t any tracks showing where the car was dragged in. I’d guess it was pushed sideways off a flatbed, then the truck drove forward and let the car drop?
I guess they could have jacked-up one end and put a rolling dolly underneath it. Then, somehow, lifted the other end to move it.
I wouldn’t imagine that would work for any kind of distance, though. And they surely did it in the middle of the night when traffic would have been the lightest, if not non-existent.
My 1st and only thought is this is such a cool car with such a sad history. RIP Buick Special.
I have seen the same thing happen with boats still on the trailer.
The boat is in deplorable condition and the trailer tires barely hold air.
This Buick hasn’t been registered in sooo long that the title is probably not in the system any more.
However I’m betting that the person who put it out there bought it as a parts car, never put the title in their name and really doesn’t stand to get stuck with the bill.
I guess it depends on how much information (and how accurate) is included on the perforated, mailed-in notice of sale.
I’m going to guess it’s not much, that the notice-of-sale is nothing more than a simple notification to the Washington DMV that the person whose name was previously on the title, no longer owns the vehicle. It’s up to the new owner to get the title transferred in their name and, from the looks of things, it’s highly dubious that that ever took place.
So, it’s now just an abandoned vehicle for the state to dispose of in whatever manner they have for doing so.
I’ve sold a few cars since moving to Seattle in 1981, and there’s no mechanism for insuring that the seller puts correct information on the form. Now, of course, you can fill out the form online.
A current registration for the car may not be in the system, but the title should be.
Yeah the previous owner is off the hook but the person who’s name is on the notice of transfer form isn’t on the hook unless they actually follow through and take the title to the county or sub-agent and apply for one in their name.
So who ever has the contract with the city or county, depending on its exact position will eventually pick it up and take it to their yard. A notice will be sent to the last registered owner and once the redemption date has passed it will be auctioned off for the fees due. The tow company can only keep their contracted hook, tow and store fees. For cars that exceed that value the money is put into a fund to cover the cars that don’t sell for as much as the bill.
So, even if a notice-of-sale was mailed in, if the last buyer never actually transferred the title like they were supposed to, the seller could get their car back by paying hook, tow, and storage fees?
I can’t imagine it happening often as I would guess most abandoned vehicles are in exactly the shape this one is (and not worth the trouble or expense), but it’s still interesting. I would have thought that receipt of a notice-of-sale without a subsequent new title would be enough for the local authorities to take immediate possession without having to first offer it back to the last title holder.
The authorities do not take possession, the police mark it for towing and it is the tow company’s problem after that.
Yes the previous owner could take possession if they payed the fees due before the auction date. After the auction comes though they can not buy it as they will not sell at auction to the last registered owner, they have to pay in full and can’t get it back at scrap price. Of course that doesn’t mean you can’t bring your buddy and have it put in his name.
Paul, I’m surprised by no frontal pic. Were the engine and transmission gone?
Since this is your Sunday “Special” for us, Paul, should we temporarily call you “Reverend”, this being your Sunday homily of sorts. Perhaps we should have you read from scripture, from Ecclesiastes, to remind us of the transient nature of the world, so spake the Solomon in his wisdom, and well applicable to this forlorn, unwanted Buick Special.
Sic transit Gloria mundi. So passes the glory/fame of the world.
LOL
That’s all the shots Ralf K. posted at the Cohort. But it’s quite obvious that it’s missing its engine and most likely the transmission.
Please don’t call me “Reverend”. But yes, all things must pass. Or fail.
Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?
For a 1962 ‘senior’ compact, it’s a tossup for me between Buick and Oldsmobile. I like the Olds’ front end better, but for the rest of the car, it’s the Buick.
All things considered, I guess I’d go with the Buick. I’m not crazy about the F-85 Jetfire’s engine and would just as soon have the Buick since it had the same engine, just normally aspirated and less troublesome/maintenance intensive.
Looks solid enough for an ambitious person to restore back here in the East.
I usually just let my photos speak for themselves but I think that these need a bit of back story. Most cars that I document I’ll take several shots from many angles and then just post my favorite 1 or 2. This Buick I had seen from the train for several years sitting on a trailer in the front yard of the house across the street from where I shot this, the owner also has a much nicer late 60s or early 70s pontiac in the yard. When I saw that the Buick was on the road seemingly abandoned I had to drive back and take these photos