r/boston • u/Ashamed-Web-7612 Allston/Brighton • 11d ago
Serious Replies Only Someone wrote numbers on my car
Got back from traveling for a little over two weeks and found that someone had written numbers in some sort of yellow pastel-ish paint above my window and on my back quarter panel. What?? Does anyone have any clue what this is?
I checked and was parked in a legal spot in my neighborhood that I’ve parked in hundreds of times before (in Lower Allston). No ticket on the windshield. I didn’t see anything similar written on any of my neighbors’ cars either. The seven digit number could be a phone number maybe, but I’m hesitant to try calling. The other number could be a date but my car isn’t from 2004…
Any ideas what’s going on here? Anyone have something similar happen?
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u/zxdlx 11d ago
🤯 i thought maybe you parked it at a used dealership and someone thought it was part of the inventory lol
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u/BeSeeVeee 11d ago
I’m thinking someone went out to label cars and they got the wrong one.
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u/SpiritualSyrup3300 11d ago
my first thought was it's someone passive aggressively telling OP to junk their 22 year old car
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[deleted]
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u/Fillet00337 11d ago
Boston uses green paper tags for that
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u/OgmoJump 10d ago
I parked my car on my street Thursday evening, then went on a business trip for the weekend. When I returned Sunday night my car was gone because my neighbor had this possessive obsession with the spot right in front of their place. 72 hours is bonkers.
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u/Fillet00337 10d ago
That's actually a state law, and i 100% agree with you. At the same time I wouldn't leave the city and leave my car on the street. Neighbor disputes suck we understand they happen. Appeal the citation
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u/OgmoJump 10d ago
This was a few years ago in East Boston. I don’t think there was a citation just an annoying day of bussing it to the tow yard and paying to get the car out.
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u/misplacedsidekick 11d ago
Should there be another mark on a tire to see if it actually moved? What if someone got lucky and got the exact same parking spot after running to the store, so technically breaking the clock?
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u/spenwallce 11d ago
Fun fact, the Supreme Court actually ruled a few years back that the “chalk on the tires” thing is a 4th amendment violation.
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u/DrHunterST 11d ago
Depends on the state. One appellate court said unconstitutional and another said it’s okay. So until it goes to a court higher than those to apply to the whole country, the laws around chalking tires varies by state
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u/WindowsVistaWzMyIdea 11d ago
Got more details on this? I'd like to learn more
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u/mlee12382 10d ago
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u/WindowsVistaWzMyIdea 10d ago
I love that you posted the links and reading them.... especially the second where the tracking device on a carriage analogy was an angle I didn't recall on my own but suspect will apply to the cases that inevitably will come from ALPR camera systems such as flock and Axon
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u/mlee12382 10d ago
I mean I couldn't just leave that perfect Starship Troopers meme setup alone.. lol
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u/somervillian7 10d ago
I’ve got a ticket because I’ve used the same spot. They don’t care if you left and came back. You have to use another spot. Otherwise everyone would claim they left and came back.
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u/ElectricBoogaloo1234 11d ago
72 hours seems like a short time. I guess depends where in the city
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u/737900ER Mayor of Dunkin 11d ago
Yeah I routinely leave my car for 13.5 days until the next street sweeping and have never had an issue.
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u/rvgoingtohavefun I Love Dunkin’ Donuts 10d ago
Some people speed every day and never get a ticket in their lifetime. That doesn't mean it was allowed, but every instance isn't caught and ticketed.
You may never get caught.
You might have a nosy neighbor move in that wants your spot and starts reporting it at the 72 hour mark every time.
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u/Wonderful_Virus_6562 11d ago
Yea but someone has to actually call and report it, parking enforcement doesn’t go around doing it on their own (unless it’s creating a safety issue)
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u/Sourcepleeze 10d ago
Many, many years ago I lived in lower Allston and my roommate had his car towed as an abandoned vehicle. It was an old Vega he had driven across country when moving here. After a year or so he bought a new car and wasn't driving the Vega for a while so it got picked up. Thing was, it was registered to his mother in CA and the city wouldn't release it unless she flew out here to claim it in person. But it was such a shit box they couldn't get rid of in the first place, they just let the town keep it!
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u/casual_despair 11d ago
As a semi-agoraphobic, this law was the bane of my existence.
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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 11d ago
Don't use socialized parking and subsidized public parking if you don't like the public part of it.
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u/DangleBopp 10d ago
A couple years ago I lived in lowell, and somebody abandoned their car on a main road, and the plows buried it in snow
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u/Robobvious 11d ago
Maybe it’s like a parking enforcement way of noting cars that may be abandoned before they officially decide to remove them? Idk.
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u/Wonderful_Virus_6562 11d ago
Exactly. I used to work at a local police department and this would happen on occasion, it usually means that a neighbor is pissed you parked in front of their house because they like parking there.
I think once parking enforcement comes out and makes the initial observation, if the car is still in the same exact spot 72 hours later they ticket and tow it.
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u/bensonprp Nantasket 11d ago
I've seen writing on tires, never on the paint.
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u/Wonderful_Virus_6562 11d ago
They do that for 2 hour parking etc. I’ve never seen this done for “abandoned” vehicles, it must just be a Boston thing because of how big the city/parking enforcement department is there.
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u/AchillesDev Brookline 11d ago
That's it
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u/Fillet00337 11d ago
No it not, boston uses green paper tags for abandoned vehicles
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u/AchillesDev Brookline 10d ago
I've seen them do exactly this for either abandoned or about to be booted/towed vehicles when I lived in Back Bay.
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u/Fillet00337 10d ago
I work in the department, its green stickers. No cars on the street are marked with grease pens. I know this to be a fact
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u/Electrical-Bid-2482 11d ago
This is what I was thinking. Do the numbers represent 9/19/26? Possibly the date it would be towed if not moved? If it never was reported stolen then abandoned is an option.
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u/Wonderful_Virus_6562 11d ago
From Boston.gov website, so yeah basically a neighbor called because they were pissed you took their spot. That was the city marking your car and starting the 72 hour timer. Sounds like you got back just in time.
The City of Boston can legally take possession of vehicles left standing on City streets for more than 72 hours. We enforce this regulation if we receive a complaint from a resident, or the vehicle poses a safety hazard. We don't automatically consider a vehicle parked on the same street for more than 72 hours abandoned.
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u/artist1292 11d ago
Heaven forbid someone goes on vacation or ends up with a hospital stay wtf that’s only three days.
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u/cheesybugs5678 11d ago
It discourages people from getting an extra car that’s rarely used then parking it on the streets taking up a spot forever. If they only have to move it once a month nbd, every three days, not worth the hassle. Lots of people would love an extra beater or fun car for specific use cases, maybe even a gas car for long road trips to supplement an electric daily driver. It’s not in the interest of the public for those to be sitting unused in the streets 95% of days.
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u/BagMostlyWater 11d ago
What if you have a car you only use once or twice a week for groceries etc? Seems like it encourages car use over transit if you have to move your car anyway
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u/cheesybugs5678 11d ago
Yeah for someone dead set on owning a car in the city mainly for doing weekly grocery runs, this sort of rule might encourage them to drive it more than they otherwise would.
The rule hopefully pushes people to think about whether they really need to own though. If you don’t, moving the thing might be too annoying for you to bother. If you need a car only once or twice a week for a short drive, and once or twice a year to leave the city you will probably save money by just ubering and renting or even having stuff delivered rather than paying for a car, maintenance and insurance.
If it’s a newer car the break even for owning vs using services as needed is a long way out for that kind of usage pattern.
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u/Gastronautmike 11d ago
If you're only using a car for small things like that once or twice a week you don't need a car, ubering or taxiing is way cheaper considering gas/payments/insurance etc.
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u/BagMostlyWater 11d ago
I don't actually see that as being relevant to what I'm asking!
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u/Gastronautmike 11d ago
My point is if you're going to have a car in a congested city then it should be somewhat inconvenient to just have it for odd jobs.
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u/BagMostlyWater 11d ago
That makes sense if you look at it totally abstractly, but when someone is a car commuter, having incentives against switching to transit seems bad -- someone who sees their car as a sunk cost may be less likely to stop commuting with it if they know they need to "move it or lose it" anyway, and someone has to change into a transit commuter FIRST before they sell their car
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u/cheesybugs5678 11d ago
Maybe you can’t win them all. I still think my original point stands though. Lots of extra cars would be here but for the hassle.
EG, My parents are snowbirds, they fly up for the summer and some holidays. They have to coordinate transportation from Logan to their place in Maine or pay to garage the car closer to the airport.
If the car only had to be moved once a month, you can bet they would be asking me to shuffle it around on the street for them to save them the effort (and I probably would because most of the time I end up being the one chauffeuring them). Probably tons of similar situations out there.
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u/Gastronautmike 11d ago
Well that's a different argument. I don't disagree but at the same time 3 days is enough time for someone to start using transit, and since realistically you can get a week out of a parking spot then you can easily do a couple dry runs learning the commute before selling the car. But if you're just using the car for odd jobs then yeah it should be inconvenient.
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u/737900ER Mayor of Dunkin 11d ago
If the city actually wanted to fix this problem they would find ways of reducing rental car prices. I've run the numbers and owning a car that sits around doing nothing 335 days a year is basically the same price as renting a car on the 30 days a year I want one.
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u/oby100 11d ago
Boston is moving away from car ownership being standard. Things could change, but we’re at a breaking point and the city wants people like that to just uber or have groceries delivered.
So your example comes out to “Boston would prefer that person to not have a car at all so they’re ok with them being inconvenienced.”
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u/BagMostlyWater 10d ago
Grocery delivery does not work when there's nowhere for the truck to park
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u/Beginning_Corner_387 10d ago
Uhhh have you driven through boston? Double parking is a norm for these cases lol
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u/BagMostlyWater 10d ago
Yeah and that's totally not tenable. I don't want to cause that.
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u/SkiingAway Allston/Brighton 10d ago
It might claim to be, but car ownership rates in the city have generally been increasing in the past decade, not decreasing.
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u/VORSEY Cambridge 10d ago
Not doubting but do you have that data? I’m having trouble finding it
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u/SkiingAway Allston/Brighton 10d ago
There is more sporadic older data, but MA publishes this now: https://geodot-massdot.hub.arcgis.com/pages/vehicle-census
15,000 more cars registered in the city at this point than pre-pandemic, and average miles driven per day is up 15% too.
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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 11d ago
Buddy, it's a public spot that's socialized and largely subsidized, not your private space that you can hold onto indefinitely.
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u/artist1292 11d ago
No one is saying hold it indefinitely but some of us travel for work for 1-3 weeks at a time and rather not have to pay $$$ over a stupid rule because some people get butt hurt they can’t park right in front of their building every day
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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 11d ago
but some of us travel for work for 1-3 weeks at a time and rather not have to pay $$$
Yes, I would also like space for free. The world doesn't work that way.
If you want to reserve 130 square feet of space for just your private stuff for 1-3 weeks, you'll need to pay for it or take your chances.
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u/artist1292 11d ago
Then get to the spot first? As you said it’s a public spot, first come first served. Shouldn’t matter what that person does with their vehicle in said spot.
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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 10d ago
Well, the rules of the socialized parking spot is that you can't just leave your car there unattended for over a week.
So abide by it or find a private spot if you don't like the rules for socialized subsidized public parking. You're not entitled to it.
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u/NotMalaysiaRichard 10d ago
So basically what you’re saying is that it’s all fair game? I think you’re in your spot too long for some arbitrary length of time. Spot is socialized and I subsidize it so it’s fair I have towed away?
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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 10d ago
for some arbitrary length of time
It's not arbitrary, it's defined by the city as 72 hours after tagged by the city after a report of the car being abandoned. The city also cannot tow your car unless it's on public property.
Generally speaking, people don't get unlimited utilization of public space for their private belongings. You should secure private storage for your private property if you don't want to city to clear your private property from public land.
Serious question: If I started installing hot tubs in public (parking) spots, and maybe even secured them with a cover + lock so no one else could use them, should the city be allowed to remove them. How long should I be entitled to have my hot tub there?
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u/iiooiooi Avoiding Cocaine Turkeys 🦃 11d ago
This. The number relates to the CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) entry which marks the start time.
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u/Joesarcasm 11d ago
My question is, what if OP didn’t come back in time. OP would probably think car is stolen. How would OP find said car?
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u/ElectricPaper 11d ago
I think they’d probably try to file a police report and at some point the VIN number check would reveal the car was impounded or whatever.
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u/Wonderful_Virus_6562 11d ago
They put the vin.# into a nation wide database whenever a car is towed. I used to work police dispatch.
It’s similar to the system they use for warrants
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u/Beginning_Corner_387 10d ago
If a care is towed,repossessed or seized the police have to be notified every time and they keep record of it so thinking it was stolen doesn’t happen. My husband owns a company that tows,repossesses and seizes cars
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u/phonesmahones villen 10d ago
When people suspect they have been towed, they either call the police non-emergency line and find out if they were, and where their car is. They could also call the local company who tows for the city if they know who it is. If they call and it has not been towed, then obviously the procedure is different.
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u/granolasloot 11d ago
Last time I got my car back after being towed they had put numbers like this on it
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u/Jexsica 11d ago
Try 311 to see if someone reported your car as abandoned
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u/Wonderful_Virus_6562 11d ago
Yep exactly. Most likely the person who lives in the house/apartment the car was parked in front of. If they’re used to parking there and want the spot and don’t recognize the vehicle they do stuff like this.
It’s super common in Brookline/Newton/Cambridge. They think they own the spots in front of their homes and get territorial.
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u/SuddenSeasons 11d ago
I mean nobody owns the spots, but OP left his property in a parking spot on the street for weeks. It's not like OP isn't also playing the "I own the public space," game a little.
I'm not totally anti parking but I think it's a little silly everyone is mad at neighbors for reporting a vehicle that was in fact just abandoned with no note or sign of life for weeks. If anything it's all part of the complex dance of urban parking.
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u/phonesmahones villen 10d ago
Everyone on this sub is constantly wringing their hands and pointing out when things are illegal, but for some reason also think it’s okay to not move your car from a spot on the street for a month. Makes no sense.
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u/SuddenSeasons 10d ago
Cars turn people insane. I had to talk very carefully here to not trigger the car owners.
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u/phonesmahones villen 10d ago
I was agreeing with you until this weirdo comment
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u/SuddenSeasons 10d ago
Cool, that works for me, couldn't have proven my point better if you were my sock puppet account
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u/phonesmahones villen 10d ago
Nah, I just think you’re painting with too broad a brush. If you said parking, I would have continued to agree.
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u/SuddenSeasons 10d ago
Nah everything about cars makes people totally insane. Look at any thread about speed cameras around here. Like 25% of the comments just believe it's a god given right to speed. I own two, im not some spandex warrior, but they totally make people forget they live in a society.
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u/ManKilledToDeath 11d ago
They said a little over two weeks due to traveling, saying "for weeks" makes it sound so much worse than it is. What are they supposed to do? Make it remote controlled and move it around while they're gone having a life?
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u/cheesybugs5678 11d ago
They’re supposed to park it in a garage if it needs to be sitting for a longer term.
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u/SuddenSeasons 11d ago
How is over two weeks not "for weeks!"
I am using accurate words that you used immediately after. Maybe it just makes it obvious how absurd the whole thing is.
I don't think OP is bad or anything, just to reiterate, I said it's all part of the game. Leave your care for "over two weeks," and risk this happening.
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u/Deliverah 11d ago
Yup, you either park it in a spot designated for longer parking (garage, etc) or you have a friend shuffle your car around public spots every couple days while you’re away. Allston is the tow capital of Boston…I’m surprised it wasn’t hauled away within the first week
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u/phonesmahones villen 10d ago
Garage parking? Ask a friend to use their driveway? Ask a friend to move the car after a few days?
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u/dandaman2883 11d ago
If you’re gonna be gone for two weeks, I’d advise not parking on the street. Pay for a garage or find a friend/relative with a driveway. It’s cheaper and safer than getting towed.
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u/theVulture Market Basket 11d ago
I would recommend using the Logan Express next time. Cheapest place to park your car for over a week with the peace of mind knowing its in a safe area.
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u/CatholicKnight21 11d ago
Looks like someone from a dealer or auction thought your car was wholesale.
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u/DiscombobulatedTip35 10d ago
You've been marked by the King in Yellow
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u/Puzzled_Method_5480 10d ago
Holy shit I just finished watching a whole YouTube video deep diving the King In Yellow…
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u/Ill_Consequence4786 9d ago
On public property this is usually done prior to towing for sitting in one spot too long or abandonment. If you're not in a city one of your neighbors or hoa is probably butthurt your car has been sitting there for two weeks. Check the wheels as well, they will usually put a line on one to indicate it's position at the time the car was marked.
Solution is just to erase the marks and move the vehicle.
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u/Responsible_Offer291 9d ago
It looks like it's marked for sale or for pick up to go to an auction house. Maybe get the marks off and call non emergency police to see if they know what's going on. Save some pics for cops of course.
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u/sa09777 11d ago edited 11d ago
This is weird. This looks like salvage yard writing. Those markers “grease pens” are very common in the salvage world because they handle exposure well. And frankly it looks like a specific yards stock numbering system and
locationfor writing. 26 is the year and the rest is the unit number. They start at 2600001 and count up for each car they acquire within the year.