Scottsdale: selling a car that is junk or will not run

Out of sight, or out of the yard

The storage rule in 7.400 is strict. Junk cars, "or vehicles while being repaired or restored," must be kept in an enclosed area "in such a manner as to not be visible from any point lying without the property." The text names no carport exception and no cover exception. If a neighbor can see the car from the sidewalk, the rule is not met.

Expired plates count too

The property code in Chapter 18 uses a broader test. Under Section 18-2, an abandoned or junked vehicle is one that is "inoperative, stripped, scrapped, discarded, wrecked, on blocks or similar devices, or is without current license plates, or has deflated or missing tire(s)." That means a car with old tags sitting on two flat tires can count as junk even if it starts fine. The same chapter lists junked vehicles and their parts under both debris and litter.

Streets, parks and tows

On public property the clock is three days. Scottsdale's Section 17-108 treats a car left "unattended or unmoved for a period of seventy-two (72) hours" on a street or other public property as prima facie evidence of abandonment, so police may tow it. Within 48 hours of the tow, the department mails written notice to the registered owner's last known address. The registered owner pays for removal and storage "unless it is shown that the registered owner was not the legal owner at the time of the offense."

To get a car back, Section 17-130 asks for evidence of identity and ownership. The towing and storage fees are whatever the city's current tow contract sets.

City parks have their own rule. Section 20-31 bars mechanical repair in a park "except in the case of an emergency when the vehicle is inoperable," and any car driven there must carry current registration.

The state side of the sale

Arizona stores titles as electronic records, so a Scottsdale owner may never have been mailed paper. If that is you, eTitle Transfer moves ownership online. If a paper title sits in a drawer, sign its back and give it to your buyer at delivery. ADOT's seller instructions mention no notary. When a Scottsdale car is a 2011 or newer, the sale usually needs an odometer disclosure. The buyer gets 15 days to put in for a new title.

Your Scottsdale plate does not leave with the car. Unbolt it first. A Scottsdale owner then has 30 days to move the plate to another vehicle, turn it in, or sign an affidavit that it was destroyed. Any months of registration left over can be claimed as a credit, though MVD keeps a $12 processing fee.

Last, send in the Sold Notice. It costs nothing and is due within 10 days, either on AZMVDNow.gov or using form 46-8502. In a city that bills registered owners for tows, this filing is your record. Under state law, the filed report knocks down the legal assumption that whoever was last registered left the car behind. After you sell walks through it.

Getting an offer

To get an offer, phone (877) 421-6008 or fill in the short form: what the car is, its odometer reading, whether it can move at all, and who holds the title. A Scottsdale garage that hides the car from the street is no obstacle; the truck loads it inside, or at the shop holding it. In a straight line, Fountain Hills lies about 8.8 miles off and Phoenix about 15.3. The Arizona page covers state rules.