So I left the US to go travel abroad for a couple years and ended up leaving my car in an old apartment building parking lot that I used to live in.

Recently received a letter in the mail from New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission with the “Abandoned Motor Vehicle Repair Facility 30 Day Notice.”

A towing company collected my car from the lot on September ’23. They sent me a notice mentioning this on June 10 ‘24.

The message was notifying me of their “intent to junk/sell the vehicle, unless you and/or the lien holder reclaim possession of the vehicle within 30 days of this letter, upon payment of the reasonable costs of removal and storage of the vehicle, the expenses incurred pursuant to the provisions of this act and the charges for this servicing or repair of the motor vehicle.”

Additional context: this car was second hand car I bought from my brother in a cash transaction and fully paid for. It’s registered in the state of Illinois however, I lost it in the state of New Jersey since that was the last place that I lived in the US.

I have no problem with giving the tow company the vehicle, as it’s probably worth less than a thousand dollars, and would potentially be more expensive to pay for the storage, tow, and repair of vehicle. I am concerned of a couple of things:

1. Can the state of New Jersey or tow company come after me and charge me additional fees, even after the tow company claimed my vehicle?

2. Will this abandoned vehicle show up on my record? Will it be difficult to pay for another vehicle in the future?

3. Will having an abandoned vehicle on my record affect my credit scores at all?

Thank you in advance for any insights or advice!