Selling a junk or dead car in Bessemer

Street parking: obstruction and the depository

Section 106-290 is the city's main tool for cars left on public streets. Any car parked "at a place, in a manner or for a length of time prohibited" by city ordinance is, if no one is in it, "declared to be an obstruction in such street and a public nuisance." The next sentence leaves officers no choice: police "shall cause the vehicle to be removed to and impounded in the depository provided by the city."

Then the clock starts. Under Section 106-295, once a car "has remained in the depository provided by the city for as long as 60 days from its reception and no claim for such vehicle has been made," the chief of police may release it to the depository agent "in order that it may be sold." If the car was worth little to begin with, those 60 days of charges can outweigh it. Fines that follow a car around are covered in tickets or registration hold.

Dead cars on private land

We found no day limit for an inoperable car in a private yard in the parts of Bessemer's code we read. There may be city rules we missed. Call the city before you assume a car can stay. One clue sits in the zoning ordinance. Section 3.2 defines, as a land use of its own, "a parcel and/or lot used for the outside placement, storage, parking, dismantling, or disassembling of any disabled or inoperable vehicles, or parts thereof." Letting a lot fill with dead cars can make it a different kind of property in the city's eyes. If you have more than one, see selling several junk cars.

State law fills part of the gap. ADOR treats a car as unclaimed after 48 hours parked without consent on another person's private land. The party that ends up with it then reports to the state within five calendar days.

Title office and Alabama rules for sellers

The Jefferson County office we looked up is 716 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. in Birmingham, at 205-325-5256. In a straight line, that office is roughly 14 miles northeast of central Bessemer. The county might have others.

• Signature: no notary on the seller's assignment.
• Mileage: certify it, using one identical figure on your assignment and on the buyer's application.
• Names: owner names on the application must be identical to the title.
• Plates: remove them, and they can go on your next car. Moving a valid plate late costs a $15 plus interest penalty.
• Lapsed registration: re-tagging a car whose registration went delinquent can bring back ad valorem tax for the current year and as many as two years before it.
• No title, old car: once a Bessemer car hits 12 model years and its value sits at $1,000 or below, the scrap buyer can file Notice form MVT 5-18 instead of your title.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or send the form. Share its model year and maker, the rough odometer count, any sign of life from the motor, and the owner printed on the title. Pickup is from wherever it sits in Bessemer, a back yard or a garage bay included. Helena, Hoover and Homewood have their own pages, and Alabama covers the statewide rules.