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COSTA RICA |
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Hundreds Of Vehicles In Impound Lots Go
Unclaimed
More than 300 vehicles sit abanadoned in the
Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT),
lot in Tibás, Pavas and Cartago. Some have
been there up to 30 years, with no one
comimg forward to claim even one vehicle
despite the efforts of the MOPT to contact
their owners.
The vehicles are from confiscations of the
Policía de Tránsito for some reason or
another, and in accordance with the current
Ley de Tránsito, the process of selling of
the vehicles by transport officials is a
lengthy and complicated one.
Many owners, it appears, prefer to forget
their vehicles completely and not pay the
accumulated fines that, in the majority of
the cases, is higher that the value of the
vehicle.
Many of the unclaimed vehicles in the
impound lot have a problem with title.
A custom in Costa Rica is not to transfer
title of a vehicle after purchase to avoid
paying the tax. So, when a vehicle impounded
by a Tránsito (traffic) official, only the
registered owner - not necessarily the
person current in possession of the vehicle
- can claim it from the impound lot after
following a judicial process.
When the original owner or title holder of
the vehicle is not available, or can't be
located, the vehicle sits. And sits.
This, sadly, is a situation faced by some
foreigners who are not aware of, negligent
or simply misinformed of their right to
ownership even though they are not a
resident or are in the country illegally.
The MOPT says it has attempted and will
continue to attempt to locate the owners of
the 300 vehicles that are rusting away,
until the law is amended allowing their
disposition. |
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