Selling a junk or wrecked car in Tuscaloosa

Who the rule covers, and who it doesn't

Section 13-71 applies to "any person in charge or control of any real property within the city, whether tenant, owner, occupant, lessee or otherwise." Renters are on the hook as much as owners. The exceptions are narrow:

• a vehicle "in a permanently enclosed building or shelter"
• a vehicle at a licensed business where keeping it is lawful and necessary to the business
• a storage lot run by law enforcement

Carports and car covers appear nowhere on that list.

The state route the city can take

The same section adds: "In lieu of the above procedure, the city may utilize the provisions of the state abandoned vehicle law." Alabama's version has its own timeline:

1. Over 48 hours on a public road, or on someone's land without permission, makes a vehicle unclaimed.
2. The holder has five calendar days to report it to ADOR, and a 60-day hold then sits on the title.
3. It becomes abandoned once unclaimed for at least 30 calendar days after notice goes to the owner and lienholder.
4. Notice of a public auction is published weekly for two weeks. After 35 calendar days from that notice, the car may be sold.

To fight the sale, the owner or lienholder files a notice of appeal in the circuit court of the county where it is set to happen.

Police impounds and the $5 daily charge

Under section 22-10, Tuscaloosa officers can impound a street vehicle they reasonably believe is lost, stolen or abandoned, or one that is likely to obstruct traffic. Golf carts, ATVs and other vehicles not legal on public streets are towed after the driver is cited.

When the city stores the car, "the storage charge shall be five dollars ($5.00) per day or fraction thereof." The city holds a lien for removal, impound and storage costs. Nothing is released before those charges are settled, "unless the chief of police is reasonably satisfied that such vehicle was improperly impounded." Towing runs on a rotation of private wrecker services. For the choice between paying out and selling, see towed or impounded.

Wrecks, total losses and salvage titles

Much of what sits in Tuscaloosa yards under 13-71 got there after a crash, so Alabama's salvage rules matter. Damage equal to at least 75 percent of the fair retail value, plus a settlement payment, makes a car a total loss in Alabama. A salvage car "cannot be registered or operated until a rebuilt title is issued." A "Parts Only - Non-Rebuildable" brand means it can never go back on the road. Our pages on an insurer totaling the car and on salvage titles go further.

Title office and plates

ADOR's probate list puts a Tuscaloosa County office at 2501 7th St., Ste.100, phone 205-349-3870. It's around 3 miles southwest of central Tuscaloosa as the crow flies.

No notary signs off on a Tuscaloosa sale. Certify the odometer number, and make it agree exactly with the buyer's application. Your plates stay yours and can move to a car you get next. The Alabama page lists the rest.

Nearby

Northport is about 4 miles away. Bessemer is about 34 miles, Helena about 37 and Alabaster about 41, all straight-line.

Getting an offer

Share the model year, make, model, whether it runs and the title status, salvage brand included, at (877) 421-6008 or on the form. Pickup can be from a Tuscaloosa driveway, a rental's back yard, or the city's storage lot once the charges are cleared.