Junk and dead cars in Gadsden

What section 86-1 reaches

The same sentence in 86-1 goes on: "no vehicle shall at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled." A project car with the front end off is covered, not only a wreck.

Repair work itself is allowed, but location matters. The code permits a major overhaul, body work included, "provided that such work is performed inside a structure or similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes." The garage is fine. The driveway is not.

The definitions also pull in boats "in a wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, discarded or otherwise inoperable condition," and the code's nuisance list names "used vehicles, parts of vehicles, abandoned vehicles" among things that can shelter mosquitoes, rodents or snakes. The one carve-out is a city-licensed business on property zoned for a junkyard, repair shop or vehicle storage yard.

None of the Gadsden sections we found sets a waiting period or a notice clock for a car at a house. Ask the city before you count on having one.

Breaking down in a Gadsden parking lot

Section 118-194 has a narrow, practical allowance for a car that dies in a lot: "It shall not be a violation of this subsection for a person to assemble with less than four other persons, for less than one hour, to remove or repair an inoperative motor vehicle." Push it, jump it or get it hooked up within that hour.

The same section requires a car to sit wholly inside a painted space. The exception is written consent from the lot's owner or the owner's agent. If the car can't move for a while, ask the store for that consent.

Hauling a dead car home on a trailer

In a residential district, 118-128 bars parking a trailer hitched to a vehicle when the pair together runs over 22 feet, on the street or in a driveway within 25 feet of the front lot line. There is an allowance for a planned outing, but "such parking shall in no event extend beyond two consecutive days, nor more than three days during any seven-day period." A dead car left on a tow dolly at the curb runs into this quickly.

When police take the car

Section 118-272 lets a Gadsden police officer tow a car off a public street if the officer has reasonable cause to think it is lost, stolen or abandoned, or that it is or will become an obstruction. To get it back, 118-275 says the owner files "a written claim thereto with the chief of police, upon a form to be provided by the chief of police." This can be done any time before the car is sold. More on this in towed or impounded.

Title, plates and the Etowah County office

Alabama's Department of Revenue issues titles. County license offices handle plates and registration. For Etowah County, ADOR's probate office list gives 800 Forrest Ave., Ste. 122, phone 256-549-5342. That's under a mile from central Gadsden, to the northeast, as the crow flies.

• No notary. Alabama asks for no notary on the seller's half of a Gadsden title.
• Mileage and names. Write the odometer reading exactly as the buyer will copy it onto the application, because the two must agree. Every owner's name on the application also has to read just as it does on the title.
• Plates. Pull the tag before the truck leaves. In Gadsden your plate can go on your next vehicle, but a late move of a valid plate brings a $15 penalty plus interest.
• Lost title. Order a $15 replacement on ADOR's Public Title Portal first. See selling with no title.
• Older, low-value cars. An Etowah County car with no title can still go to a scrap recycler or dismantler when its value sits at $1,000 or less and it has 12 or more model years on it. The Gadsden buyer files Notice form MVT 5-18 in SCRAP.

Statewide details sit on our Alabama page.

Towns around Gadsden

Albertville is about 21 miles away, Anniston about 26, Oxford about 30 and Trussville about 40, all as the crow flies. Each has its own page: Albertville, Anniston, Oxford, Trussville.

Getting an offer

Describe your Gadsden car on the form or at (877) 421-6008. Include model year, make, model, if it drives, and the titled owner. We haul from a driveway, a garage with a rebuild half done, or a store lot with the one-hour rule.