Flagstaff dead cars: the storage rule and a whole-car sale

Garage, carport, rear yard or a cover

Section 6-07 says "Inoperable motor vehicles shall be stored within a garage, carport, or under a vehicle cover if parked in a driveway." The definitions widen that a little. "SHELTERED STORAGE" means "within a garage, carport, rear fenced yard, or under a vehicle cover if parked in a driveway or rear yard."

Anywhere else on the lot, "The unsheltered storage, parking, or placement of an inoperable vehicle on any private property is hereby declared to be a nuisance."

Trailers are swept in as well, since "VEHICLE" means "any vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer of a type subject to registration under A.R.S." An unplated flatbed beside a Flagstaff house is held to the same standard.

Everyone on the lease can be named

The duty falls on "The owner, owners, tenants, lessees, and occupants of any private property" and on "the owner or owners of inoperable vehicles," who "shall jointly and severally abate said nuisance." Put plainly, the city can pursue a landlord over a renter's dead car, or a renter over the landlord's.

The code lists three cures: "removal of the vehicle from the premises," sheltered storage, or "such repairs as are necessary to operate the vehicle." A sale counts as removal.

Arizona's abandonment rules behind the city's

Flagstaff's section sets no countdown, but Arizona does. Seventy-two unattended hours, on any property public or private, is prima facie evidence the owner walked away. Along a road right-of-way it takes only 48. State law forbids abandonment everywhere, including on private land.

Next, MVD sends letters to the owner and any lender, within 5 days if Arizona has the car on record, allowing 30 days to claim it. If no one comes forward in Flagstaff and it wasn't stolen, the holder, like a tow yard, can take the car free of liens. The last registered owner also gets billed by MVD at the next registration or license renewal. ADOT's Sold Notice page describes that fee as $500 or higher.

Signing it over from Coconino County

County offices play no part in Arizona titles. That is handled by state MVD offices and authorized Third Party providers, and much of it can be done online at AZ MVD Now. Arizona went electronic with titles, so plenty of Flagstaff owners have never held paper.

A Flagstaff seller does eTitle Transfer online, or signs a paper title's back and passes it over at pickup. No notary appears in MVD's list of seller steps. Expect an odometer statement on most models from 2011 on. Joint owners should look at the word between their names, OR, AND or AND/OR, which decides who must sign.

After the sale:

• Keep the plates. In Arizona, plates stay with the seller. Flagstaff owners have 30 days to put the plates on another car, give them back, or file an affidavit that they were destroyed. Unused registration can come back as a credit, less MVD's $12 processing fee.
• Tell MVD within 10 days. The Sold Notice costs nothing; use AZMVDNow.gov or form 46-8502. State law (A.R.S. 28-4835) treats a filed transfer report as rebutting any presumption of abandonment by the last registered owner.
• Lost the title? A replacement is $4 through AZ MVD Now's Title Replacement, or form 96-0236 by post, which can take up to six weeks. Junk car with no title has other options.

Emissions skip Coconino County

Arizona's emissions program runs only around Phoenix and Tucson. Parts of Maricopa, Pinal and Yavapai counties make up Area A. Area B covers part of Pima. Flagstaff's county appears in neither.

Other towns on this site

From Flagstaff, as the crow flies: Prescott Valley 56.7 miles, Prescott 62.2, Scottsdale 104.6, Phoenix 114.6. The Arizona page has the statewide picture.

Getting an offer

Got a car to sell in Flagstaff? Ring (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. Pickup is wherever the car waits, under its cover in the driveway or tucked in a fenced back yard.