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cajunfj40 · 08-27-2018, 06:58 PM

Hello rmay635703,

Sounds like your Mom and you have a dilemma, of the obnoxious, officious sort! I empathize, having a bit of an "extra vehicle" problem of my own.

The ordinance itself sounds like, as Vman455 pointed out, there's nothing your mother's actually in violation of - if every vehicle can currently be walked up to, unlocked, sat in, started, and driven off the lot immediately without incurring any potential legal problems. IE, they must be insured and registered, batteries charged, tires full, gas in tank, adequate tune, etc.

The only reason I mention all the nitty-gritty specifics is that the way the law is worded, an officious jerk and a flat battery/tire/other could ruin y'all's day SO easy, so unfortunately, I would advise treading lightly.

As mentioned by Vman455, proof of current registration/title/etc. should satisfy the Red Car complaint. Hiring a neighbor kid or whoever mows it now to weed-whack once a week should handle the weed complaint. I hate to suggest a lot of work, as you don't have the time and your Mom doesn't have the ability. Plus, it might just whet these officious jerks' appetites. Best bet would probably be the grapevine - folks who know your Mom and/or knew your Dad could have one or more of the more amenable board members over for coffee/beer/other and try to butter them up a bit. I didn't see the Craigslist post before it was deleted, so I don't know what was tried already, but kind of in the vein of trying to get the jerks to "lay off the old lady, eh?"

For a longer-term thing, maybe try and get folks there interested in something like this anti-drone ordinance. (PDF) Might help cut back on the overflight issues.

If you want to begin the process of getting the cars sold, I would contact the folks at bringatrailer.com about it. They mostly run auctions now, rather than just feature interesting stuff anymore. If you can write an interesting little paragraph about each one - or the whole lot of them - and include a bit about "save them from the crusher!!!", they'd probably eat that up. That site has featured all sorts of interesting cars, and a trove of microcars that run and are registered and have titles - and are willing to sell at no reserve, buyer pickup - would probably get them interested. Bonus points for showing up in the auction thread to answer questions, tell stories, etc. That quip about your Dad saying the $50 fine would be worth it is gold! Their FAQ is here. From that FAQ, it seems that a lot of good photos and information up front is really good. Sounds like they get back to you in 2 business days from submission, then you pay the $99 and they pair you up with one of their folks to write the auction copy. Once you approve the copy, it goes up in about 2 weeks, and the auction lasts 7 days. No idea how they handle collections if other than a "per car" basis. Never used them, actually kind of annoyed that they've gone mostly auctions these days, but it's the first place I thought of for "how to sell a neat car that is unfortunately too far from it's target sale environment without a lot of effort." They could be jerks, I dunno, but I've seen a lot of neat stuff on there.

Best of luck to you and your Mom.

If they yank the cars/fine your Mom/other crap, let us know.

We can get creative.

08-27-2018, 06:58 PM	#19 (permalink)
cajunfj40 Lurking Eco-wall-o-texter Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: MPLS, MN area Posts: 128 Thanks: 0 Thanked 65 Times in 45 Posts	Try BringATrailer.com Hello rmay635703, Sounds like your Mom and you have a dilemma, of the obnoxious, officious sort! I empathize, having a bit of an "extra vehicle" problem of my own. The ordinance itself sounds like, as Vman455 pointed out, there's nothing your mother's actually in violation of - if every vehicle can currently be walked up to, unlocked, sat in, started, and driven off the lot immediately without incurring any potential legal problems. IE, they must be insured and registered, batteries charged, tires full, gas in tank, adequate tune, etc. The only reason I mention all the nitty-gritty specifics is that the way the law is worded, an officious jerk and a flat battery/tire/other could ruin y'all's day SO easy, so unfortunately, I would advise treading lightly. As mentioned by Vman455, proof of current registration/title/etc. should satisfy the Red Car complaint. Hiring a neighbor kid or whoever mows it now to weed-whack once a week should handle the weed complaint. I hate to suggest a lot of work, as you don't have the time and your Mom doesn't have the ability. Plus, it might just whet these officious jerks' appetites. Best bet would probably be the grapevine - folks who know your Mom and/or knew your Dad could have one or more of the more amenable board members over for coffee/beer/other and try to butter them up a bit. I didn't see the Craigslist post before it was deleted, so I don't know what was tried already, but kind of in the vein of trying to get the jerks to "lay off the old lady, eh?" For a longer-term thing, maybe try and get folks there interested in something like this anti-drone ordinance. (PDF) Might help cut back on the overflight issues. If you want to begin the process of getting the cars sold, I would contact the folks at bringatrailer.com about it. They mostly run auctions now, rather than just feature interesting stuff anymore. If you can write an interesting little paragraph about each one - or the whole lot of them - and include a bit about "save them from the crusher!!!", they'd probably eat that up. That site has featured all sorts of interesting cars, and a trove of microcars that run and are registered and have titles - and are willing to sell at no reserve, buyer pickup - would probably get them interested. Bonus points for showing up in the auction thread to answer questions, tell stories, etc. That quip about your Dad saying the $50 fine would be worth it is gold! Their FAQ is here. From that FAQ, it seems that a lot of good photos and information up front is really good. Sounds like they get back to you in 2 business days from submission, then you pay the $99 and they pair you up with one of their folks to write the auction copy. Once you approve the copy, it goes up in about 2 weeks, and the auction lasts 7 days. No idea how they handle collections if other than a "per car" basis. Never used them, actually kind of annoyed that they've gone mostly auctions these days, but it's the first place I thought of for "how to sell a neat car that is unfortunately too far from it's target sale environment without a lot of effort." They could be jerks, I dunno, but I've seen a lot of neat stuff on there. Best of luck to you and your Mom. If they yank the cars/fine your Mom/other crap, let us know. We can get creative.