Junk and dead cars in Montgomery

Kept in the open: section 27-13

The main rule for private property reads: "No person shall deposit, store, keep or permit to be deposited, stored or kept in the open, upon property, a dismantled, unserviceable, junked or abandoned vehicle, or one legally or physically incapable of being operated under its own power." Two details widen it. "Legally" incapable takes in a car that runs but can't lawfully be driven. And the term covers "parts thereof including bodies, engines, transmissions, rear ends, etc." A pulled engine on a pallet counts.

Under section 12-31, a car is inoperative "if it cannot be safely operated or if it is incapable of being moved under its own power." Oil, filter, belt, tire and spark plug changes are named there as regular maintenance.

Five days from a written order

What sets Montgomery apart is who starts the clock. The car's owner must remove it "within five days after being ordered so to do in writing by the owner, lessee or occupant of the premises where such vehicle shall be found." A landlord, a tenant or a relative whose land the car sits on can serve that order. An unknown owner gets the order taped to the car itself.

When the five days pass, the property owner, lessee or occupant, or the police department, removes the car to a location the city provides.

The 90-day window at the city's lot

The owner can get it back "by making application therefor within 90 days after its receipt by the city." That means paying all reasonable removal and storage costs, plus an extra flat storage charge the code sets for the city's custody. After 90 days with no claim, the city may sell the car "as junk or otherwise."

Front yards

Section 27-395 keeps cars out of Montgomery front yards, at homes and businesses alike, unless they sit in a driveway. Loading, unloading and washing are allowed, "in no event" for "more than three hours in any given 24-hour period." A ticketed registered owner has 30 calendar days to plead guilty and pay. Rolling a dead car onto the lawn so the driveway is free runs afoul of it.

Impounds after a crash

Section 27-664 lets an officer impound a car involved in an accident when the driver can't produce a valid license or the car isn't properly insured. The tow company holds the car until the registered owner or an agent brings a release document from the Montgomery Police Department. No impound happens if the owner or another family member of the owner is present with a valid license and proof of insurance.

Paperwork in Montgomery County

The Montgomery County office on ADOR's probate list is at 101 S. Lawrence St., phone 334-832-1248. It's roughly 3 miles northwest of central Montgomery as the crow flies.

A car that has sat with a lapsed tag can owe more than a renewal. Missing your designated renewal month brings a $15 plus interest penalty. On top of that, a lapsed registration can bring escaped ad valorem tax covering this year and up to two earlier ones. Selling the car instead of reviving it is one way out. See tickets or registration hold.

At the sale, no notary is needed for the seller's assignment. The registrant pulls the plates and can move them to a newly acquired vehicle. Missing that transfer deadline also costs $15 plus interest. Alabama has no emissions testing, so a failed test is never the hold-up. The Alabama page has the full state list.

Nearby

Prattville is about 13 miles from Montgomery. Auburn is about 49 miles, Opelika about 56 and Alabaster about 68, all straight-line.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or use the form for each car. Use the offer form to tell us about your Montgomery car. With free pickup anywhere in the US, the truck goes to a Montgomery back yard on a five-day order, or to a relative's place where cars have sat for years.