A. Any person upon whose property or in whose possession is found an abandoned vehicle or motor vehicle shall have authority to sell, retain, give away or dispose of the abandoned vehicle or motor vehicle to any person licensed under Sections 66-4-1 through 66-4-9 NMSA 1978 provided that he notifies a law enforcement agency prior to the disposal and obtains from that agency a written clearance stating that neither the agency's records nor the computerized records of the national crime information center indicate that the abandoned vehicle or motor vehicle has been reported as stolen and either:

(1) the vehicle or motor vehicle in question regardless of its age is either totally wrecked or in such a state of disrepair that it is suitable only for dismantling purposes;

(2) the vehicle or motor vehicle in question is at least eight years of age or older; or

(3) the vehicle or motor vehicle in question has been placed in any storage or wrecker yard at the request of a law enforcement agency or a property owner upon whose property the vehicle or motor vehicle was abandoned and has remained unclaimed in that yard for a period of thirty days, in which case the owner of the storage yard may proceed to make a claim against the motor vehicle or vehicle, as specified in Subsection C of Section 66-3-119 NMSA 1978 as though it were abandoned. Any person wishing to obtain the vehicle may not charge more than fifty cents ($.50) per day for storage unless he is licensed as a vehicle storage yard, and he must notify owners and lienholders within thirty days or lose all rights to claim the vehicle.

B. In the case of any vehicle or motor vehicle which is less than eight years of age or in such a state of repair that it will be placed back into service or which is not to be used for dismantling purposes or which a property owner wishes to retain for his own use or to sell to anyone other than a licensed dismantler, the person shall proceed to make claim for the vehicle or motor vehicle through a lien process and obtain a new certificate of title prior to disposal.

History: 1953 Comp., § 64-3-121, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 68; 1989, ch. 318, § 9.

Cross references. — For the penalty for violation of this section, see 66-4-9 NMSA 1978.

The 1989 amendment, effective July 1, 1989, substituted "66-4-1 through 66-4-9 NMSA 1978" for "64-4-1 through 64-4-9 NMSA 1953" in the introductory paragraph of Subsection A, in Subsection A(3) inserted "or motor vehicle" near the beginning of the first sentence, and substituted "66-3-119 NMSA 1978" for "64-3-119 NMSA 1953" near the end of that sentence; inserted "or motor vehicle" near the beginning of Subsection B; and made minor stylistic changes throughout the section.