Lake Havasu City dead cars: yard rules and a whole-car sale

Front, side and rear yards

8.08.020 divides a Havasu lot three ways.

• Front yard: "Inoperable vehicles or watercraft are not allowed in the front yard."
• Side or rear: permitted only when screened "from the right-of-way by means of a sight-obscuring wall, fence, or hedge," screened the same way "from the neighboring properties," "or concealed by a fitted cover."
• Every yard: no blocks, no jacks, no flat tires, no missing wheels.

Boats share the rule, so a dead outboard on its trailer stands in the same spot as a dead car.

The zoning definitions point the same way. Junk there includes "unlicensed automobiles or portions of automobiles" and "the dismantling or 'wrecking' of automobiles." An unregistered car with parts already pulled off it can read as junk twice over.

Two days at the curb

Moving it to the street buys little. Section 10.12.150: "Any vehicle or disabled vehicle remaining parked, upon any street or right-of-way of the city for more than 48 hours is an abandoned vehicle."

Police then fix "a distinguishable notice to the front windshield," or somewhere visible if the glass is gone. It tells the owner to move the car "within 24 hours," and "failure to do so shall result in the storage of the vehicle at the expense of the owner." Already stored? Read towed or impounded.

An MVD office up the river

Mohave County does not issue titles; Arizona's MVD and its authorized Third Party offices do. For Lake Havasu City, we looked up the MVD office at 1325 Alonas Way in Bullhead City. Measured on a map, it sits about 45 miles north of central Lake Havasu City. The county may have more. Most sellers can skip the drive: AZ MVD Now handles a lot online, and Arizona titles are electronic, so many Havasu owners have no paper to hunt for.

Two routes to transfer: eTitle Transfer through AZ MVD Now, or a signature on the back of a paper title, which goes to the buyer along with the car. MVD's seller instructions mention no notary. When two names appear, the joining word, OR, AND or AND/OR, settles who signs.

Plates, registration and the Sold Notice

Registration ends the moment the car is sold. The plates are the seller's to keep, so unscrew them before handover. Arizona then gives you 30 days to transfer them, surrender them, or file an affidavit of plate destruction.

Within 10 days, report the sale with a Sold Notice, free on AZMVDNow.gov or form 46-8502. ADOT warns that without one, MVD may go on listing you as owner, and that an abandoned car brings a fee starting at $500. After you sell covers the rest.

Selling without a title

Under A.R.S. 28-2098, licensed automotive recyclers and registered scrap metal dealers can buy a Lake Havasu City car with no title once three conditions are met. It carries 12 or more model years, its value is $1,200 or less, and its title was lost, never issued, or returned to MVD. Payment must be by check. The buyer photographs owner, car and VIN, and the owner signs that the car is headed for scrap and owes no lien. Lying on that statement is a class 1 misdemeanor carrying a $2,500 fine. A replacement title runs $4. More at selling with no title.

Emissions

Arizona tests only around Phoenix (Area A, parts of Maricopa, Pinal and Yavapai) and Tucson (Area B, part of Pima). Mohave County falls outside both.

Mohave County neighbors

Bullhead City lies 45.5 miles off and Kingman 52.4, both crow-flight distances. Prescott is 106.3. See Arizona for statewide rules.

Getting an offer

For a car in Lake Havasu City, call (877) 421-6008 or use the offer form. Pickup comes to wherever it is parked in Lake Havasu City, a screened side yard and a carport included.