Hugs and thanks to all of you above. Finding these posts just now has warmed my heart.

I feel responsible for the car, regardless of its condition. I suppose abandoning it might be something I could get away with. However, I would prefer to handle its disposal myself.

My bf had planted rose bushes outside his apt. I hired a guy to dig them up. I paid him $60, which be was very happy with. I could have just left the bushes for the maintenance crew at the apt complex to dig up. But those bushes were deeply rooted and represented my bf's effort and care. I wanted to be the one (even indirectly) who pulled them out of the ground. To me, tying up these loose ends - like the rose bushes and the car - feels like a sacred obligation. They are just things. But I care very much about what they represent to me.

I will look into my options regarding disposal of the car. If I can find a party who would want it for scrap, then maybe it could be towed without costing me much. I will research that. Even if it would cost me $200, I would pay that, as a way of putting this behind me in a manner that gives me some closure.

I so appreciate your responses and suggestions. I do need to get the plates off the car and turn them in to Motor Vehicle. I should find the car title and a death certificate. Those might need to be seen by MVD and whoever tows the car. I don't want the salvage company charging me storage fees. Disposition of this vehicle needs to be conclusive.

Yes, this is a kind of "delayed grief" reaction. We can invest a lot of emotional attachment to things. Many years ago, I called a salvage company to tow away a car of mine that had been totaled in an accident. As the towed car disappeared around a corner a block away, I surprised myself by crying. It was an old car worth little. I guess it represented a piece of my life. I felt like I was saying a final goodbye to a friend.

In 2010, I stopped my car one night to remove the body of a dead dog from off the asphalt. I couldn't abide the thought of cars continuing to crush this dog's poor body beneath their wheels. A very nice couple pulled up behind my car and helped. They offered to dispose of the body, as they lived in the town whereas I did not. I contributed a large trash bag from my truck. Had it been the body of a cat, I would not have stopped. (Sorry, cat lovers.) But I felt the dog deserved more respect, even in death. (I'm a dog lover.)

I do know sentimentality can get overdone. As a kid, I once saw a doll sticking out of a garbage can, outside of a house on the street where I lived. I passed it by. That night I felt guilty that I hadn't "rescued" the doll. I told myself to stop fretting over a piece of vinyl. I knew I was being silly. I guess it was the human-like face that got to me. But the image of the abandoned doll haunted me for quite a while.

Most importantly, I have to stop mooning around in depression over this. Making myself do things is very hard right now. But I have to make myself. That's what got me out of depression in Sept. If I would just go do the dishes, I would start to feel less depressed. First, though, I want to lie down for a while. I should set a time limit on that. Part of me wants to give up.

Thank you all for understanding so much.