Prescott Valley junked-vehicle rules and selling the car

When a stored car becomes a nuisance

Section 9-04a-030 declares that storing "any junked motor vehicle on any private property within the Town in violation of this Article" is "dangerous to the public safety and a public nuisance." It also sets a presumption that matters to most homeowners: if the car's owner is also "the owner or person in control of the property," that is "a prima facie case of such a nuisance." Your own dead car on your own lot is the easiest case the town can bring.

The ten-day letter

Under Section 9-04a-070, when a Prescott Valley official finds a junked car on private land, a letter goes to whoever owns or lives on the property, plus the car's owner if known. It says:

• the car "constitutes a public nuisance under the provisions of this Article";
• it "must be abated ... within ten (10) calendar days"; and
• you may appeal to the Town Manager in writing and ask for a Board of Adjustment hearing inside those same ten days.

Within those ten days, you either abate the nuisance or appeal in writing to the Town Manager. Our guide to a notice to remove a car has more.

A hearing before the Board of Adjustment

Section 9-04a-100 lays out the appeal. Your request reaches the Town Manager "within ten (10) calendar days after the mailing or service of the notice." The hearing notice goes by certified mail, except when the car has no readable identification numbers, in which case notice to its owner is waived. At the hearing, people on both sides of the ownership question "may appear in person and present relevant evidence or testimony."

If the Board orders the car out, it "may be removed ten (10) calendar days after mailing of the written decision." Miss the ten-day request window and the town can remove it with no hearing at all.

If nothing is done

Section 9-04a-110 gives Prescott Valley two tools. Officials may tow and dispose of the car under ARS 28-4801 and the sections after it, charging the expense back. They may also file a criminal complaint naming the car's owner, the landholder, or both.

How the bill turns into a lien

Under Section 9-04a-120, the Town Manager may prepare a verified statement of actual removal and storage costs, "including ten percent (10%) for administrative costs," and serve a copy on the landholder. Then:

1. You get 30 calendar days to pay or to appeal in writing to the Town Council.
2. With no appeal, the figure "shall become final and binding."
3. Left unpaid, or affirmed by the Council and not paid "within five (5) calendar days," it is recorded with the county.

One protection exists. If the town finds the car was put on the land "without the consent of the owner or person in lawful control" and that person never "subsequently acquiesced," the Council "shall not assess the costs" against them. If that is your case, read abandoned car on your property.

Where state law takes over

The town hands disposal to Arizona's abandoned-vehicle statutes. ARS 28-4841 has MVD write to the owner and lienholder, inside 5 days for an Arizona-recorded car or 30 days for any other, and allows 30 days to claim it. Under ARS 28-4842, an unclaimed car that isn't stolen can be retitled to its holder with liens cleared.

Title and paperwork

Our Prescott Valley research did not cover a title office, so there is no mileage here. The county does not do titles in Arizona. For Prescott Valley, that job belongs to state MVD and authorized Third Party offices. Paper titles are no longer mailed out by default, so many owners just have the electronic record.

• Transfer. In Prescott Valley, close it out online with eTitle Transfer, or sign your paper title on the back and pass it over with the car. ADOT MVD's published seller steps don't call for a notary.
• Missing title. ARS 28-2098 covers a Prescott Valley car with no title and no lien. At 12 or more model years and $1,200 or less in value, it may be sold to a licensed recycler or registered scrap dealer. The seller signs a scrap statement and gets paid by check. See junk car with no title.
• Duplicate. A replacement runs $4.00 through AZ MVD Now or by mail on form 96-0236.

Plate, Sold Notice, emissions

Pull the plate before the tow; it stays yours. Once you sell, the registration is over. A Prescott Valley owner has 30 days to put the plate on another car, return it, or file an affidavit saying it was destroyed. Any unused registration may come back as credit, minus $12.

Within 10 days, a Prescott Valley seller files the free Sold Notice using form 46-8502 or through AZMVDNow.gov. ARS 28-4835 treats that report as rebutting the presumption that the last registered owner abandoned the car, which counts if a buyer leaves it somewhere later.

Only the Phoenix and Tucson metros have emissions testing in Arizona. Parts of Yavapai County fall in Area A, so look up your address on myAZcar.com rather than guessing.

Nearby

Prescott is about 7.3 miles away. Our other pages are farther: Peoria about 56 miles and Flagstaff about 57. Statewide rules are on the Arizona page.

Getting an offer

For a Prescott Valley car, phone (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. Mention any town notice. The truck can reach the car in a driveway, a backyard, or a lot by the highway.