Modern Vespa

hey! So I came across a really weird situation today and wasn't sure if anyone on here could maybe help me.

A friend had a roommate who, many months ago, married a girl, joined her church, moved to portland, and disappeared, wont return calls etc. In the process they left their Stella scooter at my friend's house. My friend wants it gone and said he would give it to me if I could figure out how to get a title for it so I can register it in my name. Any ideas how to figure that one out???? (I live in florida btw)

Also..it has been sitting for some time and no longer electric starts, has a slight gas leak, and has paint gone with some rusted spots. How easy would it be to get the parts? I would need the orange paint, new mirrors (completely rusted), a new (not sure what to call it) badge area...like the chrome part you remove on vespas to get to the horn. would this be difficult or are they readily available?

thank you in advance for any help!!!

Does your friend own the home? If so, he could file a lein, put the scoot in his name, then sell it to you.

Yeah, he does own the home. He had asked the DMV a while ago what he could do and they said that he would have to get it towed and let it go to state auction, but that doesnt sound right to us at all.

I have no idea how to go about filing a lein, but I am imagining the DMV could help me figure that out?

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0705/SEC102.HTM&Title=-%3E2004-%3ECh0705-%3ESection%20102

The scooter isn't yours, and it isn't your friend's to give away. It's abandoned property. This link tells how to deal with it in Florida.

Good luck

Think you have to go to the Clerk of the court and file a lien.
Know there is at least one lawyer on here, hopefully he will reply.

Wayne B

I hope that Stella doesn't have bad juju.

Is there fresh dirt around it?

A lien for what? No money is owed. As the previous poster said, it is abandoned property and there are regulations for dealing with it.

file a lien, once that is done your friend can sell it to you.

thanks everyone for your response.

I also should have made it clear that when the kid up and moved to portland he told my friend he didnt care about the scooter anymore... that is all well and good but my friend, not knowing the kid would decide to stop all contact with all of his florida friends, didnt ask for a title or bill of sale or anything, assuming they would speak again. So he isnt just getting rid of something that isnt his to get rid of. Also, if you had a scooter you couldnt legally ride sitting in your yard for many many months you would eventually want to have something done with it, I would imagine. I just wanted to clarify that for the people that seemed upset by my question.

This means that the kid still owns the scooter, or that it's stolen. It's nice that your friend wants to give it to you, but immaterial. And that's precisely why that statute was passed. It tells what to do, and how to make an ownership claim.

To put it another way, What if the kid stole that scooter, rode it for a while, then left town, leaving it and his past to start a new life? Huge hassle for you. The process may well track down the owner.

Part 1 tells what to do with abandoned property- it requires one to report it to the police.
If the owner (the person whose name is on the title) doesn't want it or cannot be found, then Part 2 allows one to make a legitimate claim on it.
Part 3 and 4 say it's a crime to keep or appropriate it, laying out penalties if one does.
Pretty clear, I think.

If it belongs to the kid , and he doesn't want it, you get the scooter! If he can't be found , it's yours! If it has been stolen, you've done the right thing. Let the police do their job. You pay their salaries with your taxes, let them do what you pay them for. Guess this is directed at me, but I'm not pissed off or anything. I think liens are for something other than getting free scooters!
And good luck with this.

I actually called the police before I even posted this, I asked their advice, and it was to call the DMV. Since it was friday after 5 I just wanted some input so I didnt get my hopes up over the next two days on a lost cause

Florida - § 715. 04 et seq.

The landlord must send a notice, to the place the tenant is expected to receive it, that (1) describes the property in sufficient detail for the tenant to identify it, (2) advises him that he has 10 days (15 days if the notice is mailed) to claim it, (3) appraises him of reasonable storage costs, and (4) tells him where to claim the property.

The notice must also inform him that unclaimed property of value will be sold at a public sale and property believed to be worth less than $ 500 will be kept, sold, or destroyed.

After deductions for storage, advertising, and the sale, landlords must turn over to the county any residual proceeds.

This Stella situation may not be a typical landlord/tenant case but the above law gives a fairly good idea of the process. The owner must be notified, given time to respond and advised what happens if he does not claim his property.

Good luck with all of the legal hoops you need to claim the Stella. As far as the parts go, they are easy to find. Scooterworks is always a good place to start at, I am sure you can find the mirrors there. The horncast may take a bit more looking, I have seen them on ebay. Also, remember that the Vespa and PX 150 and Stella are the same machine with minor changes, so most of the parts are interchangeable.