Selling a junk car in Athens, Alabama

What Athens calls a nonconforming vehicle

Section 46-51 defines it as a vehicle "that is inoperable in that one or more of its major mechanical components including (but not limited to) engine, transmission, driver (sic) train, or wheels is/are missing or not functional." A car or motorcycle without a current tag counts too, because it can't legally go on the street. The exception is a car on a licensed dealer's lot with a sign showing it is for sale.

Loose parts count separately as junk. The city's list includes engine parts, mufflers, bumpers, truck caps and tires. A car that has been picked over for parts can break both rules.

The five-day notice

The city starts with a corrective notice. It says the condition "must be remedied within five calendar days from its issuance," and no case can be filed under section 46-60 before those days run out. A first violation brings a fine set in the code, and the person can choose to plead guilty before the magistrate and pay under the city's schedule of fines. Commercial property has a different standard. Anything outside an eight-foot enclosure, wall, fence or planting counts as non-screened.

Streets and city parking lots

Section 46-192 sets a presumption: a vehicle "left at any one place within a parking lot owned or operated by the city or on a street or highway within the city for a period of 48 hours consecutively is an abandoned vehicle." Section 46-193 bars leaving any wrecked or nonoperating vehicle on a city street at all.

If police have one towed, section 82-12 says that for 30 days the towing company can release it only with police authorization. Under an evidentiary hold, it can't be released at all. Our towed or impounded guide covers what comes next.

Title and plates in Limestone County

ADOR's probate list puts the Limestone County office at 100 S. Clinton St., Suite B. Its number is 256-233-6430. That's roughly 2 miles northwest of central Athens as the crow flies. No notary is needed when you sign the Athens car's title over. Certify the odometer figure, and make sure it matches, digit for digit, the number on the buyer's application. Keep the tag, because Alabama lets it move onto a car you get later. More is on the Alabama page.

Nearby towns

Madison is about 12 miles away, Decatur about 14 and Huntsville about 17.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or send the form with the model, its running state and the title wording. Free pickup anywhere in the US reaches the carport in Athens, the side yard with a five-day notice on it, or the tow lot once police release the car.