As an owner of a 1997 Land Rover Discovery, I spend a lot of time in r/LandRover on Reddit, and I was recently hooked by a discussion about a situation most car enthusiasts have encountered at least once in their lives. A curious onlooker notices a desirable car that sits parked at a house or on the street somewhere, untouched, immobile, and without any invitations for contact. The longer it sits, the more the onlooker wants the vehicle, and how to connect becomes a question that demands answering. On Reddit, the post was in regards to a Land Rover LR3. “I want to save it so bad but have no idea how to contact an owner,” user u/GOFYMYT said. “It’s right in front of my apartment.”
Pictured is a red LR3 in a sorry state with faded paint, sagging air suspension, and crappy tires. I’m pretty sure everyone who saw it on Reddit, as well as anybody seeing it here has the first time thought, “just leave a note.” But what if that’s to no avail?
The user goes on to explain that it’s been sitting there for at least two months and has a ton of stuff in it. Perhaps it’s in poor, non-op shape and has been relegated to being a storage container for the owner’s worldly possessions? Maybe they intend on fixing it and have a bunch of parts inside waiting to be swapped in, they just need a few more bits, and/or enough time to do so.
In the replies to the post, a different user chimes in with various forms of asking around. The suggestions include asking the neighbors, asking the apartment complex owners, and running the plates. Then, there’s some insight as to what could be wrong, how much cash to set aside to remedy it, and so on. Also included in the discussion is some insight about LR3 ownership, some of which mirrors what I discuss in this short post. As of this writing, the situation is unresolved, but we hope the original poster does get in contact with the owner, does give them a sum of cash for this chonky hunk of mid-aughts off-roader potential, and enjoys it to the fullest.
This got me thinking: How would you go about trying to contact the owner of this LR3? Sure, there are conventional methods that I mentioned above, but we’re curious if there are other more appropriate or effective methods we aren’t aware of.
Have you ever left a note on a derelict car and had success? Or, a car in any condition for that matter? Do you have any tips for reaching a mysterious owner? Let’s discuss and share some stories!
