Selling a dead or junk car in Trussville

The one-car rule in Section 38-332

Three conditions apply to the single car you are allowed to keep:

• It must be screened from every street right-of-way "by virtue of storage within an enclosed building or being screened by privacy fencing, topography, and/or vegetation."
• It may not be "in a state of partial or substantial disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled" at any time.
• It must sit on an improved surface, as the city's subdivision regulations define it, not on grass or dirt.

Heavy work is allowed only "inside a structure or similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes." Pulling an engine on the driveway does not qualify, and a car left half stripped is exactly what the city looks for. Our missing parts guide covers selling one in that state.

Signs Trussville reads as neglect

Section 38-58 lists the signs of "evident disuse, neglect, or abandonment," including a missing engine or transmission, "no valid license tag," and "vegetation underneath the vehicle as high as the vehicle body or frame." The code's inoperable car is "incapable of being self-propelled" or falls short of street requirements, "including a current motor vehicle license." An expired tag alone can tip a working car into that group.

A car left on land its owner does not own becomes abandoned after "a period exceeding 72 hours without consent of such property owner." If that is your situation, see car abandoned on your property.

Towing, notice and liens

Under Section 38-334, an officer may tow an abandoned or inoperable car only "following proof that notice was served" on the owner, operator, occupant or tenant of the property. Before towing, the officer has to make a reasonable effort to check that the car is not stolen or under a lienholder's repossession claim. Then, "within five calendar days," written notice goes to the owner of record with the Alabama Department of Revenue, any lienholder, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Section 38-336 adds a cost most people miss. The city may place a special assessment or lien on the real property where the car sat. If the land and the car have the same owner, money from a later auction of the car is credited first against that lien.

Title offices and Alabama paperwork

Trussville spans Jefferson and St. Clair counties. Two offices we checked each sit roughly 17 miles from central Trussville, as the crow flies: 1815 Cogswell Ave., Ste. 212, Pell City, sits to the east (205-338-9449), and 716 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, sits to the southwest (205-325-5256). The counties may have others.

Alabama makes the seller's side short. No notary is needed on the assignment. Write the mileage exactly as the buyer will, since the two must match, and sign in the name printed on the title. Remove the plates; they may transfer to your next car. A scrap recycler can take a car of 12-plus model years valued at $1,000 or less with no title in your name, using Notice form MVT 5-18, and cars more than 35 model years old need no Alabama title at all.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the form. Useful details: how many miles are on it, the year and model, whether the title is in hand, and whether it moves on its own. Pickup can happen behind the screening fence or at a shop off North Chalkville Road. Nearby pages cover Mountain Brook and Birmingham; statewide rules are on Alabama.