Selling a dead or junk car in Norwalk

The blight line

Norwalk's blight chapter, Section 58A-1, describes a property that "contains unauthorized outside storage or accumulation of junk, trash, rubbish, boxes, paper, plastic, or refuse of any kind or the parking of inoperable motor vehicles, boats, motorcycles or other inoperable machinery on the property or the public right of way." A car that no longer runs, parked on the lawn or at the curb, fits those words.

We did not find a section in the brief we have from Norwalk's code that puts a clock on it. Connecticut lets towns go after blight, as long as the owner is told in writing and gets a reasonable chance to clear it up. It leaves the details, including whether a junk car counts, to each town. So the city may have its own procedure. Read any notice for its deadline.

State clocks once police get involved

Connecticut's motor vehicle statutes set the timeline when a car is treated as abandoned:

• 24 hours after police stick a notice on a car that seems abandoned or unregistered, it can be removed and stored at the owner's expense.
• 48 hours after taking it, the police or parking authority must mail the owner and any lienholder by certified mail. The owner then has 10 days to contest.
• If Norwalk doesn't yet hold title, it keeps a car worth $1,500 or less for 15 days before selling it, and a higher-value car for 45 days.
• A car with no valid plates, worth $500 or less and unusable can pass straight to the town, which sends it to a licensed recycler.

Abandoning a car on a road or another person's land beyond 24 hours is an infraction, and the fine is $85 at minimum.

Title and plates from Norwalk

Titles come from the state, and Norwalk has no title office. The Norwalk office we looked at is the Danbury DMV at 2 Lee Mac Avenue, about 20 miles north on a map. Other DMV offices exist, and appointments are offered at most of them.

Many sales need no visit. For a Norwalk sale, sign the title's reverse, hand it over along with a written bill of sale, and keep copies. A Norwalk bill of sale lists both parties and their addresses, the car's model details, color and VIN, the amount and the date, and ends with your signature. Unscrew the plates, because the seller keeps them. Then end the registration on the DMV site and hold on to the receipt it gives you. Until that cancellation, the car stays on the city's property-tax rolls.

Older than 20 model years, a car gets no Connecticut title, and Form Q-1 with the newest registration fills that role. For a newer car, a licensed recycler must receive the title.

Nearby

Darien is 4.2 miles from the middle of Norwalk, Westport 4.4, New Canaan 6.3 and Stamford 6.6. See the Connecticut page for state rules.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or reach out online. Norwalk owners can start with the offer form. The truck can come to the driveway, a side street off Main, or a repair shop.