Selling a dead or junk car in Opelika

When a car counts as inoperative

Section 18-36 gives three ways in. A car qualifies if it is "unable to move under its own power due to defective or missing parts" and has stayed that way "not less than seven (7) consecutive days," and/or it "is not currently licensed for use on public streets," or it is "unfit for further use as a conveyance." The "and/or" matters: an expired tag alone can be enough.

The same definitions section separates repair work. Minor repairs are things like oil, tires, a water pump, an alternator, brakes or spark plugs. Major repairs include "pulling an engine block," transmission and axle work, "major body repair" and "dismantling."

Where it cannot sit

• Outside an enclosed area, past seven days, if children can get to it or weeds grow up around it (18-37).
• In the front or street side setback. "No major recreational equipment or vehicles in an inoperative condition" may be parked there at all.
• Anywhere visible, for that major recreational gear. Keep it in a garage, or in a back or interior side yard screened by a solid fence or wall five feet high or more, or some other way the mayor's office signs off on.

Licensed garages, service stations, scrap yards and junkyards in the right zoning district are exempt from the seven-day rule.

The third car changes the label

Section 25-101 is easy to miss. "Any place where three (3) or more junked, wrecked, or nonoperative automobiles" are kept "shall be determined an automobile graveyard" under that article. A family with a dead truck, an old sedan and a parts car in the back now owns a site the code treats as a junkyard, and that same article defines screening as fencing or a wall that will "effectively hide from view any deposit of junk." Clearing them together is covered in several junk cars.

The vintage-plate exception

Opelika defines an antique or vintage vehicle as one "being or has been restored" that carries "a valid State of Alabama vintage vehicle license plate." Section 18-37 does not stop you keeping one on private property with permission, but you still have to conceal it "by means of buildings, fences, vegetation, terrain or other suitable obstruction." A long-stalled restoration is common here; see old project car. Alabama also stops requiring a title once a vehicle is more than 35 model years old, with exemptions listed in the state's FAQ.

When a car is abandoned

Section 18-48 lists the tests. A car is abandoned if it shows no current plate and is wrecked, dismantled or cannot move; or it sits on private property without consent for more than "twenty-four (24) consecutive hours"; or it stays on a public street or city parking garage "greater than seven (7) consecutive days"; or it sits on other city property for more than 24 hours.

The office on S. 9th Street

We checked one Lee County office: 215 S. 9th St., Opelika (334-745-9761). It is roughly 1 mile south of downtown, measured straight. The county may run other offices too. Plates and registration go through it. Opelika titles are issued by the Alabama Department of Revenue. Alabama needs no notary on the seller's signature. Certify an odometer figure that agrees with the buyer's application. Write names just as the title shows them. Take the plates off. They can go on your next car.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Opelika? Ring (877) 421-6008 or send us the offer form. We collect it where it sits, like a fenced back yard or a side lot. Opelika is about 8 miles from Auburn and about 25 from Phenix City. See Alabama for the statewide rules.