So, for 5 years I've been working at my current job and parking in the same garage, and almost in the same spot daily. And over the past 5 years, this 240z has not moved (parked near the top of the 10 story garage).

Saturday I was talking with a friend who recently picked up an '88 911 that is in near mint condition w/ fairly low miles. Part of the reason it is in such great shape, is that it was abandoned and left under a car cover for years. Until one day someone questioned why the car had been sitting for so long, only to find out it was owned by a bank in Omaha.

So, I started thinking about this Z and that maybe it has been abandoned with no real owner (maybe the owner moved, passed away, etc.) And although I don't really need another sporty 2 seater that is driven twice a month, if I can get a good deal, it may be something I'm interested in buying. If anything, I'll have satisfied my curiosity of the car and maybe one of you will buy it (or we'll find out it's not for sale).

Pics (notice the thick layer of dust):

Very cool! I hope you find an owner to make an offer, if you don't want to I will!

Registration expired 07/01/2008


EDIT:

Registration expired in 2010. Woman who lives in Houston.





[This message has been edited by helgs (edited 4/22/2013 11:02a).]

[This message has been edited by helgs (edited 4/22/2013 12:33p).]

[This message has been edited by helgs (edited 4/22/2013 1:08p).]

I'm ready to watch this story unfold.

Texas Transportation Code:
A car is considered abandoned if it is inoperable, is more than five years old and has been left unattended on public property; has remained illegally on public property for more than 48 hours; or has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in charge of the property for more than 48 hours.

Following.

Sucker is clean!

Responded to your email, OP. Get the VIN if you can. I can get better/more reliable info since the registration is so old.

Watch listed

So, looks like the car hasn't been registered for almost 4 years, and has been sitting in a private parking garage for at least 5 years. Since parking is $200+/month, I doubt they have been keeping up with the fees over the last 5-6 years.

And I'm not sure if it runs or not (surely a dead battery), but the outside is in fantastic shape (other than the missing emblem in rear and flat tires). The windows are very dusty, but the interior looks very nice as well. The front lip is sitting in the back seat/hatch area, and there appears to be a paper with the information of all previous owners in the car (car show queen maybe?).

I may take a look underneath and snap another picture or two when I leave work today.

[This message has been edited by vansprinkle (edited 4/22/2013 2:24p).]

There was one of these types of situations in my last parking garage as well. Worked on a 3 year project in downtown Austin, parked in the same garage almost every day for that time and there was an older BMW 3 series parked near the top in the same spot that entire time, and it had been there some time when I first started parking there.

More pics from lunch time:

Interior (didn't want to clean window, so pic isn't great)


Rear undercarriage


Front undercarriage


Looks like the original owner from 1972 restored it in 98-99. Wonder if he still owns it? (this is the list I was talking about in previous post, obviously previous post assumption was wrong)

Responded to OP's email. Last registered to a female who lives in Houston.

The other Missouri car is not the same vehicle.

Got ya. I may have an email address from 1999 and if anything, I have the home address you provided.

Thank you for all your help!

Edit: Interesting enough, it looks like the current owner is an Ag, class of '61.

[This message has been edited by vansprinkle (edited 4/22/2013 1:49p).]

Gimme

So I just talked with the previous owner who is c/o '61. He was the original owner that had the car completely refinished in 99 and sold the car a few years ago to some lawyer at V&E (same building and garage as me).

He sounded a little upset that the car he owned for almost 40 years is just sitting in a parking garage in downtown Houston, and has a bit of sellers remorse. I sent him the posted pics of the car and gave him the address to come check it out for himself. When he gets home he is going to look up the current owners info and email it back to me so I can call the guy up.

I'll keep you all posted.

damn, this is getting good quick.

my guess is either the guy is hiding his purchase from wife, or he has some creditor issues.

This is cool

Looks like a nice restoration. Hopefully the original owner gets his car back after all these years.

He emailed me back this afternoon and is going to find the current owners info. From my pics he is convinced it is his old car (which we were pretty sure of based on the VIN and license plate #).

Let y'all know when I hear back.

This is getting good

Even if you don't score this ride, this is a cool story. Would be happy for original owner if he got it back, happier for you if you can snag it. It's a waste to just sit and rot in the garage.

If you run into the V&E guy, send him my way, I need a bigger legal network.

Be careful OP. if you find the V&E guy died in a mysterious diving accident in the bahamas or hunting accident in Canada- run away. The missing brief is in the trunk of the antique car in the garage that the bad guys didnt know was his. [\somethinglikeTheFirm]

Maybe Reggie Hammond has another car in Houston and is stashing his cash there until he gets out of the joint.