El Mirage junk-car rules for a car that quit

Section 74.02 and who it covers

It is unlawful for "any owner, tenant, lessee, or other occupant" to let "a dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperable, or abandoned motor vehicle or any parts of a motor vehicle" stay on private property in El Mirage. Renters are named right alongside owners.

Section 74.01 spells out the terms:

• Dismantled or partially dismantled: a car "from which some part, ordinarily a component of the motor vehicle, has been removed or is missing."
• Inoperable: one that "by reason of dismantling, disrepair, or other causes is incapable of being propelled under its own power."

The zoning chapter, Section 154.020, adds a "deflated tire or tires" and "an expired license plate" as reasons, and says storage is judged by its effects, "not ... based solely on duration."

Block walls don't hide a car

Many lots here have block walls, and owners assume a car behind one is fine. The code says otherwise: "A fenced or walled area shall not be considered a wholly-enclosed structure hereunder if any vehicle or any part of a vehicle may be seen from a street, alley, or other private or public property." A roof showing over the wall is enough.

Thirty days from the notice

Under Section 74.05, the City Manager may tell the property owner, or that owner's agent, to dispose of the vehicle. The clock is 30 days from when you receive the letter, or 30 days from its date if the post office sends it back undelivered. Our guide to a notice to remove a car covers what to do next.

Streets and sidewalks

Section 72.06 declares abandoned "Any vehicle left unattended for more than 48 hours" in a street right-of-way or on a sidewalk, and police may tow it at the owner's cost.

Title, plate and emissions in Arizona

The El Mirage brief we worked from listed no title office, so this page gives no mileage to one. Arizona issues titles through state MVD and authorized Third Party offices, never the county. Owners here are often holding an electronic title rather than paper; either kind moves by eTitle Transfer or a signature on the paper copy.

Keep the plate, because Arizona plates go with the seller. Inside 30 days, mount it on another car, give it back to MVD, or swear an affidavit that it was destroyed. Tell MVD about the sale with a no-cost Sold Notice in the first 10 days. Under ARS 28-4835, that filed report rebuts the presumption that you, as the last registered owner, abandoned the car.

Emissions testing applies only around Phoenix and Tucson, and Area A includes parts of Maricopa County. A car that won't pass is a common reason to sell; see failed emissions.

Nearby

Glendale is about 8.8 miles away, Surprise about 9, and Peoria about 13.6. The Arizona page has statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send us the details: make and model, a rough odometer reading, whether it starts, and whether your title is paper or electronic. The truck can reach the car behind the wall, in the alley, or at the shop. More on selling a car that doesn't run.