Is this your unwanted car or someone else’s vehicle?
If you own the vehicle and can establish authority to transfer it, you can arrange a voluntary sale. If another person owns it, begin with the police or municipal reporting route. Give its location and identifying details without entering or moving it yourself.
Who handles the official abandoned-vehicle process?
PennDOT’s Salvor Manual sets out a regulated process involving law enforcement, authorized salvors, ownership searches and notices. It is separate from an owner-authorized junk-car purchase. A private cash-for-cars enquiry is not an abandoned-vehicle report or a grant of ownership.
What if the vehicle is on private property?
Tell the local authority whether the car is on a public street, shared lot or private land. Keep any lease, prior correspondence and notice reference available. Ask which process applies before arranging removal; permission to enter your land does not establish authority to sell someone else’s car.
What should an owner do after receiving a notice?
Read the issuing authority, deadline and instructions on the actual notice. Contact that authority promptly and explain your proposed sale or removal. Keep written confirmation of any arrangement. Free towing for a purchase does not erase earlier enforcement, towing or storage charges.
Official sources.
Sources reviewed September 25, 2026. Use the current instructions for your vehicle and transaction.