Abandoned cars left to rot at Mitcham train station

A frustrated commuter has captured footage of smashed up cars left abandoned — some of them for months — at busy Mitcham train station, pleading with the council to take action to free up the valuable parking spaces.

A frustrated commuter is calling on authorities to remove eight abandoned cars left to rot at Mitcham train station.

Ringwood man Tim McMahon recently shared a TikTok of the dumped cars taking up prime spots for commuters at the station in Melbourne’s outer east, pleading for Whitehorse Council and police to take action.

Some of the cars have broken wheels and others have been covered in graffiti, with “free car parts” scrawled over the bonnet of one vehicle.

There are a mix of models including a Toyota Prius, a ute, and a Toyota Kluger.

“It’s a bit dodgy – there are needles in one of the vehicles and at least one of them is probably being used by somebody to sleep in,” Mr McMahon said.

He has reported the cars directly to the council and also through the Snap, Send, Solve app, and said he had received a different message from them each time.

“When I called up they said they had reached out to Metro (Trains) and then via Snap, Send, Solve they said they had tagged one of the cars to get rid of it in eight weeks.”

One of the dumped cars.

Many of the cars have been smashed up, with broken wheels and graffiti.

Mr McMahon said at least two of the cars had been there for more than three months, while the other ones were relatively new, and had been dumped in the carpark for about a month.

He said he’s not sure why the cars had been abandoned.

“Normally if it’s a stolen car they will dump it in the street, not at a train station,” he said.

“I don’t even know how they got there they are so smashed up.”

Mr McMahon uses the station to commute to work in the city most weekdays.

“A lot of time I’ll arrive at around 8am which is sometimes too late (to get a park) and I’ll always resent that about eight or so car parks are just wasted (by these abandoned cars).

Parking is at a premium at Mitcham station. Picture: Ellen Smith

“They are just popping up more and more and (the council) are not removing them.”

Mr McMahon said he had been inundated with comments on his video about dumped cars being a problem at other stations, including Bayswater and Huntingdale.

But removing dumped vehciles can be a lengthy process — once a report is received, Metro Trains is required to remove abandoned vehicles after 60 days

“Dumping cars at station car parks is illegal and takes up valuable car spaces while taking resources away from other areas to remove and clean up,” a Metro spokesperson said.

The cars at Mitcham station are due to be removed on October 21.

To date, 70 cars have been reported as abandoned in Metro station carparks this year.

In 2023, 84 were reported.

A Whitehorse council spokesperson said the council could only remove abandoned vehicles from public roads and council-owned land.

Originally published as Abandoned cars left to rot at Mitcham train station