Abandoned VehiclesNgā waka kua whakarērea

Vehicles abandoned on state highways are the responsibility of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and they are to be contacted in the first instance.

A vehicle that is currently warranted and registered cannot be dealt with as abandoned; however, it may incur infringement fees for a variety of parking issues if left unattended to.

If you think your vehicle may have been towed as an abandoned vehicle, please phone our team anytime on 06 857 8060 and we can help you. 

Report an abandoned vehicle

To report an abandoned vehicle, please ensure you have the following information when you contact us:

• The location of the vehicle;
• its registration plate number;
• the vehicle make and model; and
• its WOF/registration, including date of expiry.

You can complete and submit this online form or phone our team anytime on 06 857 8060.

Removing an abandoned vehicle

Once we have been notified of a potentially abandoned vehicle, our officers will be dispatched to issue any applicable infringement notices. Our team will then try to locate and notify the owner of the vehicle using its registration details, engine or chassis numbers. If the owner does not respond to our enquiries about the abandoned vehicle, we will make known our intention to either sell the vehicle within ten days or dispose of it in other ways. If we assess that the vehicle has no value, advertising may not be necessary.

We will declare the vehicle abandoned if an owner or interested party (e.g. a finance company) don't come forward, and the vehicle will be legally deregistered and sold to cover towing, storage or other costs. Any other proceeds from the vehicle sale will be kept for 12 months, during which time the previous owner can claim the proceeds. The vehicle can be disposed of by Council or a new buyer. 

If the abandoned vehicle is claimed before it is sold, it will be returned to the registered owner once they pay any costs incurred. 

Vehicles aren't always removed while investigations take place; however if necessary, the vehicle may be moved for storage but we will notify the Police first.