Hey guys

This is my first post, I've been lurking around reading and trying to learn about this car. Very useful forum and community.

So I'll keep this short, but basically this is the jist: I live in North Carolina, drive a 97 civic 5spd.

Friend drives from California earlier this year in May as she is originally from here. She ends up getting into a fight with her family and crashes at my place for a night before booking a plane ticket to go back to California. She asks if she can leave her car at my place (I have a garage and unlimited parking) and she'll come back in a month or so and drive it back. I said sure, so she left me with the keys.

This is where I it gets complicated and I need advice -

So the registration on the car went up about 2 months after she dropped it off. I drove it around from time to time, amazing difference from my dumpy 97 civic obviously. Im in love with this car, other than the fact it eats premium gas like no one's business. It had roughly 111000 miles on it.

So I try to get in contact with her and she basically ghosted me, eventually saying she doesn't have the time to come back and get the car. I see on her various social media platforms that she has bought a more or less brand new BMW (2015+) and drives it daily.

I eventually ask her about the title - does she want to sell me the car? does she even want it? She replies (and I have been saving messages for proof) that "she doesn't even want to deal with it, take it to a junk yard if you can and keep the money." Well hold on now. There isn't anything outstandingly wrong with this car, it's a little scratched up but no accidents, no dents, typical wear on a 10 year old car.

Come to find out the title was in the backseat - thing is, it was the original title from where she purchased the car in early 2016. As in, it was made out from the previous owner to the dealer ship to my friend's name - she never went to the California DMV to get a new title.

I ask her if I send it back, can she go get a new one and make it out to me and/or come to an agreement and I'll buy the car - she says yes! she had other things in the car so I mailed them to her with the title, but not before making a copy of all sides and documents attached to it.

August rolls by and I had to move, so I had to take the car with me or risk it being impounded. Drove it to the new place and parked it in the middle of the night. I've done some regular maintenance on it, and try to drive it around the outside of town every week or so to keep it in good condition.

At this point, I don't think she's going to send a new title to me.

In North Carolina, a vehicle is considered abandoned after ten (10) days on private property. The little information I could find on the topic states that you have to:
1) have a police officer come and run the VIN to make sure it is not a stolen vehicle - get a document from them that confirms this
2) go to the DMV and apply for an application for an abandoned vehicle title (wait 2-6 weeks) ... show proof of contacting previous owners about titles, no response, etc
3) apply for abandoned vehicle title (2-6 weeks) and pray your paper work isnt wrong

Is this the best way to go about this? Ive also read about bonded titles but it seems she could come up at any time and take the car back and I'd be in the hole for quite a bit of money, even though I don't think she gives a damn at this point. I think she is just too busy and lazy to deal with the LA DMV (not that I blame her I guess)....

What do you guys think? My civic is on its last legs but the BMW is also right at the age where things start to go wrong. I figure if worst comes to worst I'll own a BMW that I can sell and make free money off of, and drive in the meantime. I love working on cars even though I don't have the greatest space for it, but BMW parts are expensive as hell. I don't want to think about the first tranny problem I have with it.

TLDR; Friend abandoned car, registration is up, she has title and told me to junk it - best way to get a title or should I sell it with no title at a loss to someone willing to deal with it?