Michigan man must sell all of his 216 unregistered cars on property.

Status
Not open for further replies.

Monte Cristo

Apprentice
Aug 10, 2015
82
30
8
So, this guy had a bit of ground and lots of trees to give him privacy from the neighbors. For years he collected old cars, and nobody much cared. Now the township is enforcing an ordinance forbidding keeping unregistered cars outside of a garage. (They probably nailed him using satellite photos.) He started with 216 cars in June and is under a court order to sell 20 a month:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/clas...is-property-every-month/ar-AAs9snb?ocid=ientp
The cars don't appear to be junk. They appear to be in reasonable condition for their age, but the township, like most in America, have limited the freedom of property owners to keep old cars as collectables, for parts or whatever. I didn't see any G-bodies in the pictures, but someone could get a good deal on something. Here is one link:
https://annarbor.craigslist.org/cto/d/1991-saab-900s-16valve/6257889694.html

If you want to collect older cars and not register them and pay insurance to corporate America, don't move to Northfield Township, Michigan, or most other municipalities in the U.S. Generally the Western states in the U.S. (but not on the coast), are much freer than others. However, it would be a real b*tch to move somewhere to get away from this, and then have them change the ordinances.
 
Last edited:

TURNA

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
Jul 24, 2009
10,941
19,990
113
Socialist NY
I can't stand hoarders, just letting them sit there to rot

Been "collecting" since he was 21, so for 50+ years he has been crapping up the block and or
running an illegal junkyard in a residential area.

I am all for freedom but when people take advantage of it this is what you get and why there are so many dam laws.
 
  • Agree
  • Dislike
Reactions: 2 users

Ribbedroof

Comic Book Super Hero
Supporting Member
Jan 4, 2009
4,865
6,893
113
Wellston, OK
All mine are registered or inside...or both:)
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 user

Monte Cristo

Apprentice
Aug 10, 2015
82
30
8
All mine are registered or inside...or both:)

Why should a car be registered if it isn't being driven on the state's highways? Old pickup trucks, vans and wagons can have a long life on a farm after they have stopped being driven on the highways where they are nobody's business but the owners. One problem with requiring that all autos must be registered, is that in many places, insurance is required first. That gets ridiculous. I grew up with a neighbor who had two 1929 Nash antiques in his garage and a third out back under a canvas cover for parts. None of the kids from the neighborhood ever bothered it. We all were raised better than that. So, unless the parts car is registered and insured, its illegal? That means that it will be much harder to keep antiques in good working order. A reasonable alternative would be to require some kind of inspection by the local authorities to be sure that the car isn't leaking anything into the environment or that it is somehow dangerous.

Now don't get me wrong. I think this guy was dumb. I learned a long, long, time ago that a vehicle is not an asset. It is a depreciable asset that requires attention an expense to keep it running. Of course, old car bodies can be considered art. Maybe the best example of that is the Cadillac ranch in Texas where Cadillacs from 1949-63 were partially buried at an angle to illustrate the evolution of their iconic tail fins:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220
So, unless it could be shown that this man's cars are half apart being scavenged for parts, or that the cars are somehow leaking fluids or dangerous, I don't agree that his property is an "illegal junkyard". It's more like a non-conforming parking lot or museum. They could have given him more time to find homes for his collection.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

oldsmobile joe

Royal Smart Person
Nov 12, 2015
2,067
3,053
113
mpls
i would think he has been there a long, a very long time before that ordinance was put in place, and he could be grand fathered in.

is he a hoarder, or collector, probably a little of both. but if he owns the cars, i see nothing wrong with what he is doing. now his children might think differently, since they are the ones that will inherit his passion when he passes.

now as far as the neighbors, i suspect they moved out to the country to get away from the city. and they were fine moving next door to him and visiting with him. i call these people mover inners or worse, do gooders. you know the type, they're so much more intelligent than the rest of us, that they must save us from ourselves. these are the people that move next an airport, landfill, racetrack, etc and then complain about it.
he is a passive problem, i would rather have him as a neighbor than the drug house i had across the street or the halfway house with five felons.
i wonder what his neighbors would think if he were to start up a hog farm?
joe
 
  • Winner
  • Agree
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users

Monte Cristo

Apprentice
Aug 10, 2015
82
30
8
i would think he has been there a long, a very long time before that ordinance was put in place, and he could be grand fathered in.

The man did have an attorney representing him in court, so apparently he wasn't grandfathered in, or that doesn't work in Michigan.

is he a hoarder, or collector, probably a little of both. but if he owns the cars, i see nothing wrong with what he is doing. now his children might think differently, since they are the ones that will inherit his passion when he passes.
...
joe

I think what he did was dumb, but in the America that I remember in my youth, it would have been only his business. It hasn't been proven that he's harming anyone, or that any of his cars are dangerous. He should have a right to be eccentric, but America isn't the free country that it used to be. People now think they have a right to tell their neighbors what to do with their property, and governments are agreeing so they can raise taxes.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 users

Ribbedroof

Comic Book Super Hero
Supporting Member
Jan 4, 2009
4,865
6,893
113
Wellston, OK
I didn't say I agreed with the situation, BUT, we do not live in the USA of my youth....where people worried about their own business more than that of their neighbors.

Times change, people change, "priorities" change....time marches on.

Thing is, his situation is not "normal", even by car-guy standards. He has a problem, and while that's fine, when it impacts others, it's no longer just his problem. I can guarantee you that from the pictures I saw, he has a rodent problem, and I would guess that is impacting other properties nearby.

I like old cars, and would collect as many as I could, within reason, but I realize that each year, I'm one step closer to not finishing them all, a burden that I do not wish upon my family should i meet an early demise.

Don't want to make this political, but will just say that if one feels strongly that their rights are being infringed upon, they really should become involved in being part of the solution, rather than just complaining about the end result....often people do not exert any effort on their own behalf, while those who oppose a given situation are usually very tenacious in their opposition.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 2 users

TURNA

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
Jul 24, 2009
10,941
19,990
113
Socialist NY
Hoarder

AAs9scr.img
 

lilbowtie

Comic Book Super Hero
Jan 7, 2006
3,460
3,965
113
Canton Mi
I live within 20 miles of this guy and can't believe he got away with his hoard as long as he has. I was going to buy some property close to there in 1990 (5 acres) and couldn't even build an out building - rules and regulations were tough back then and not getting any better. I can't even keep my motor home or car trailer at my house. Where he is located is becoming prime property and developers are moving in which probably exposed his so called collector cars. I feel for the man but I know I wouldn't want to live next to that.
 

DRIVEN

Geezer
Apr 25, 2009
8,062
14,479
113
*CENSORED*
When I read the first post it said 20 cars per day and I thought it was pretty unnrealistic. Article actually says 20 per month. That guy is a hoarder not a collector. There is nothing that I saw in those photos that had any collector value. Mostly just a bunch of broke down euro junk.
I'm usually the first person to defend freedom from government intrusion -- and I do think that the guy should be able to do what he wants on his own property. That said, the law is the law and he made no visible effort to be discrete. I mean maybe if the grass/weeds were cut and they were at least parked in rows he could make an argument that they were a "collection". If he cared about those cars they'd be under cover and he wouldn't be in this situation.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 users
Status
Not open for further replies.

GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please support GBodyForum Sponsors

Classic Truck Consoles Dixie Restoration Depot UMI Performance

Contact [email protected] for info on becoming a sponsor