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

[Jeff L]

If he is a hoarder, and just looking at the pictures makes think so, then getting rid of a nut and bolt would be impossible because every little thing has meaning to him. Just seeing those hoarding tv shows it is the same thing over and over again where “I need this” kind of problem. More then likely if you tried to buy a car, he had some excuse why not to sell it. No wonder legal remedies happened because without some kind of intervention nothing would leave that site.

I agree with DRIVEN that I too believe we have a right to do whatever we chose on on our own property as long as it does not endanger ourselves or neighbors. His property looked like a junkyard and I would not want my house next to his. Just thinking of the eyesore, all the rodents that could be living in some of those junks, and if he had the hoarder mentality nothing you could do or say would change his stand on keeping everything as it was. He could be a really nice guy but the sickness just takes over.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Scrap yards have rules they have to comply with to properly dispose of fluids. People use to pour their old engine oil down the sewer and I'm glad that has changed. This guy may be contaminating the soil which gets expensive to repair. There are cases where someone has contaminated the grounds and could not afford the clean up so they walk away and stick the city with the costs to clean it up. The city should get involved in situations like this to protect the rest of the citizens..

From looking at the photos, I don't see any evidence of environmental damage. Everything looks very green. If some of these cars were leaking, the township should have demanded that they be addressed first rather than settle for a high requirement that he sell 20 cars a month. I wonder if he needs a dealers license to do that and is now breaking the law that way now.

I don't think his neighbors would like it if their property values dropped because of him.

It's more likely that some new neighbor moved into the neighborhood and that by forcing this man to sell his cars they are raising their property value at his expense.

 

[Monte Cristo]

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.

Thanks I fixed that. I try to be as accurate as possible.

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.

You seriously don't think that a Buick Special with a straight 8, MG TD, MGB, Porsche 924, or that very old Chevy pickup have any value as collectibles? Most of what he had didn't look to be that special to me, but there were some notable exceptions.

all the rodents that could be living in some of those junks,

I get the environmental argument, but not the rodent argument. This isn't in a city. The properties are far enough apart with lots of trees for that not to be an issue. Anyone living out in the country who is worried about mice should have a cat. A dog or two in the yard will control rats too. That's how things were done in years past without these kinds of laws. People learned to get along better. Snakes, owls and hawks will control rodents too, all very naturally. Rodents, I would think, need to be underground to survive a Michigan winter or they will freeze. I also don't see a food source for a vermin problem. They need to eat something to grow a population. Again, it's all just speculation and more "maybe this is problem".

 

[DRIVEN]

Sorry, all I see is junk. 80s and 90s BMW, Mercedes, and VWs are scrap to me. That's all that was shown in the article. If they were in the dead CL link I can't comment on them.

 

[lilbowtie]

Monte Cristo -
I think if you personally visited you would change your mind. I don't know why you don't consider it a junk yard, junk yards are held to a higher level. This isn't a country setting, I consider it a high rent area. There is no way I would want to have a $4-5 hundred thousand dollar house and live next to that. Yes there are some cars worth some $$$ and he has a chance to save them. You could give me that Buick and I wouldn't take the time or effort to get it out of there. Some of those cars haven't moved in years and I'm sure the oil pans, gas tanks, and hoses are rusted and rotted and not holding fluids. It's not just cars there is xxxx everywhere. He has enough buildings to hide a lot of the cars but they seem to be full of other collectables. I'm sure this isn't the first time he has done battle with the township and has had many opportunities to fix the problem.

 

[565bbchevy]

If this guy would have been a Gbody collector instead there would probably be a line of car haulers down his street.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Monte Cristo -
I think if you personally visited you would change your mind. I don't know why you don't consider it a junk yard, junk yards are held to a higher level. .

My definition of a junk yard is cars that are being parted out, missing doors and windows, waiting to be sold for scrap metal. From the pictures, I don't see that. I just see a collection of old cars, and yes they are depreciating, but the guy gets that he needs to find homes for them.

This isn't a country setting, I consider it a high rent area.

I don't know the area well enough to classify it. From the article, this man's property is on a gravel road with lots of trees around it. It sure sounds rural to me. My guess is that the neighborhood is changing, and now becoming more high rent, and thus the conflict new people with a different culture.

There is no way I would want to have a $4-5 hundred thousand dollar house and live next to that.

I don't know that I would want to live next door to that either. If so, I wouldn't buy a neighboring property and then b*tch about it. I suspect that that is what happened here. I have no sympathy for someone who did that. I generally don't like telling people what to do with their own property. If this is about how it looks, then the neighbors should plant trees and build fences if they don't like the view.

Yes there are some cars worth some $$$ and he has a chance to save them. You could give me that Buick and I wouldn't take the time or effort to get it out of there. Some of those cars haven't moved in years and I'm sure the oil pans, gas tanks, and hoses are rusted and rotted and not holding fluids.

I completely understand the environmental issue. IF that is a problem, then the township should have focused on that first. They didn't, so I am assuming that it isn't much of a problem. I see a lot of green vegetation in the photos.

It's not just cars there is xxxx everywhere. He has enough buildings to hide a lot of the cars but they seem to be full of other collectables. I'm sure this isn't the first time he has done battle with the township and has had many opportunities to fix the problem.

From the article the man has lived there for 15 years. It makes no note of previous problems. The author's point is that the owner realizes that he has a problem and is trying to fix it, but he just needs more time. He sounds like he is being reasonable. I don't think that the township is. On his own property, the man has a right to have xxxx everywhere. If the neighbors don't like it, tough nuggies. Living in a free country should mean something.

Since you have no idea what is under the cars you have no idea if the ground is contaminated or if the fluids were properly disposed of. The way he has abandoned the cars I doubt he has any concern with the environment. How would you know that it was a new neighbor? You must read too many fictional books.

I don't agree that it should be assumed that because a car is not registered that it is leaking fluids into the environment. IF that is a problem, the township should have addressed that first. They didn't. The man moved into this property 15 years ago, and had much of his collection then. He has been collecting cars for 50+ years, and now suddenly he has a problem.

 

[pontiacgp]

He has been collecting cars for 50+ years, and now suddenly he has a problem.

does a bank robber's problem only start when he/she is caught?

 

[gmparts]

Welcome to America, you have freedom to do what you want as long as I tell you so.

 

[1evilregal]

there was a paragraph in the article that said it all for me :
According to Ron, a number of Craigslisters have come over to buy a car, then backed out after Ron’s spent hours fixing the car up. He says many of the buyers are “[Wanting] a $5,000 car for $500,” and that because of the time constraint,“ I haven’t sold one car yet for anywhere near where I paid for them.

the city is on his case about getting rid of them... he's more worried about getting what he paid for the cars, than having them seized and getting nothing for them but a bill from the county/city... then complains he can't get rid of enough each month.... worries that his wife will be stuck dealing with it if he were to die from the stress of dealing with all of it.....

he's a hoarder..... build a building for a few choice cars, sell the rest for what you can get... most of those MB's and bimmers aren't getting those kinds of prices anyways... 924's aeren't worth the headaches, even in running condition...

just my $.02