What makes a car a junk motor vehicle in Vernon?

Section 13-56 requires no plates or invalid plates, plus all three of these: the car looks abandoned, it is worth $500 or less as it sits, and it is so vandalized, damaged or run down that it cannot be used as a car. That $500 is a test the code uses. It is not a price.

Is a broken-down car in a Vernon driveway against the code?

Section 13-58 says no one in charge of property may let an apparently abandoned or inoperable car stay there. A Vernon car parked inside a closed building is left out. The section lists other exceptions too, one of them for restorations.

What happens if I ignore the notice?

Under section 13-60, after the required notice and a 30-day wait, the building inspector's department can tow the car to a garage, a wrecking yard or a place for rubbish disposal. If a sale does not cover the cost, the town can sue to recover it.

Who keeps Connecticut plates after a Vernon sale?

You do. Remove the plates, then cancel the Vernon car's registration with the DMV and save the receipt. Leave the insurance policy running until that cancellation is complete.

Town guide · Connecticut

Selling a junk car in Vernon, Connecticut

Vernon hands junk cars to its building inspector, not the police. Under section 13-63, that office may even run a town program to haul them off, with a removal fee the town council approves. The rules trace back to Ordinance 150 on abandoned, inoperable or unregistered vehicles. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, so you can sell the whole car as it sits instead. Pickup is free anywhere in the US, all of Vernon included.

Updated October 11, 2026 · 12 sources

Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Vernon, the short version

Population: 30,842 (Census estimate, July 2025)
Junk-car rule: Town Code 13-56 to 13-63
Who removes junk cars: The town building inspector
Value test in the definition: $500 or less
Wait after notice before removal: 30 days
Parts car during a restoration: One, up to 30 days
DMV at 60 State Street: About 13 miles southwest

The $500 test in section 13-56

Vernon's code spells out a "junk motor vehicle" with a stack of conditions. The car has "no registration marker plates or invalid registration marker plates," and also:

it "is apparently abandoned"
its market value "in its current condition" is $500 or less
it "is so vandalized, damaged or in disrepair as to be unusable as a motor vehicle"

The code uses $500 only as a legal cutoff. Nobody is quoting a price with it. Section 13-58 goes further and covers anyone in charge of property in town: no one "shall allow an apparently abandoned or inoperable motor vehicle to remain on such property." Cars kept in an enclosed building don't count, and some business sites don't either.

Restorations get a narrow pass

If you are rebuilding a car, section 13-58 sets the limits. Parts have to be "stored in the vehicle or in a structure." You may keep one extra car for parts "for no more than thirty (30) days." Both cars go under "a tarpaulin whenever work is not being done upon them." Note the 30 days. A parts car that has sat all season is past it.

What the building inspector can do

Section 13-60 lets the inspector act "after giving the required notice and after waiting the required thirty (30) days." The car can go by town truck or commercial tow "to a commercial garage or an automobile wrecking yard or any suitable place for the disposal of rubbish." If a sale does not cover the bill, the town can sue whoever got the demand. The section also leaves room for officials named in state law to take a junk car under the state's own steps.

Those state steps start with a certified letter from police inside 48 hours of a tow, after which an owner gets 10 days to object. A different track covers wrecks: an unusable car that looks abandoned, carries bad plates or none, and is worth $500 or less becomes the town's property and heads to a licensed recycler.

A note on work trucks

Under section 13-40, commercial vehicles may not park on Vernon's town streets except while making a delivery. The fine is ninety-nine dollars a day, and police can tow the truck to a pound the mayor picks. A dead box truck at the curb gets expensive fast.

Titles and plates from Vernon

The DMV for Vernon is at 60 State Street in Wethersfield, about 13 miles southwest of town on a map. That agency, not any town office, issues Connecticut titles. Most of its offices take appointments.

On a sale, sign where the reverse of the certificate asks for the seller, then hand the buyer that paper and a bill of sale, keeping copies of each. Cars past 20 model years don't need a title. The DMV has a letter you can show to prove it. For those, Form Q-1 and the last registration replace the title. Missing a title on a newer car? See junk car with no title.

Plates come off before the car leaves. End the registration with the DMV online and keep its receipt; Vernon's property-tax list carries the car until that happens. Insurance should stay active until the DMV confirms.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Vernon? Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the offer form. Our Vernon pickups happen near First Congregational Church, behind garages, or at shops that couldn't fix the car. Nearby towns are Manchester, South Windsor and East Hartford. State rules are on Connecticut.

Questions people ask

What makes a car a junk motor vehicle in Vernon?: Section 13-56 requires no plates or invalid plates, plus all three of these: the car looks abandoned, it is worth $500 or less as it sits, and it is so vandalized, damaged or run down that it cannot be used as a car. That $500 is a test the code uses. It is not a price.
Is a broken-down car in a Vernon driveway against the code?: Section 13-58 says no one in charge of property may let an apparently abandoned or inoperable car stay there. A Vernon car parked inside a closed building is left out. The section lists other exceptions too, one of them for restorations.
What happens if I ignore the notice?: Under section 13-60, after the required notice and a 30-day wait, the building inspector's department can tow the car to a garage, a wrecking yard or a place for rubbish disposal. If a sale does not cover the cost, the town can sue to recover it.
Who keeps Connecticut plates after a Vernon sale?: You do. Remove the plates, then cancel the Vernon car's registration with the DMV and save the receipt. Leave the insurance policy running until that cancellation is complete.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

Vernon Code 13-63, Junk motor vehicle removal program library.municode.com
Vernon Code ordinance disposition table (Ordinance 150) library.municode.com
Vernon Code 13-56, Definitions library.municode.com
Vernon Code 13-60, Towing, storage, disposal of abandoned motor vehicle library.municode.com
Vernon Code 13-58, Disposition of wrecked or discarded vehicles library.municode.com
Vernon Code 13-40, Commercial motor vehicle parking library.municode.com
Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 246 cga.ct.gov
CT DMV: Selling a vehicle portal.ct.gov
CT DMV: Cancel registration and plates portal.ct.gov
CT DMV: Vehicle title service (20-year exemption) portal.ct.gov
CT DMV: Locations and office hours portal.ct.gov
U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, 2025 www2.census.gov