Selling a dead or junk car in Crestview

The three clocks in Section 86-33

The section lets the city move a car "to a public garage or other place of safety at the owner's expense" in these cases, among others:

• 72 hours on a street. A car "upon any street longer than 72 hours."
• 24 hours in a city lot. A car "in a city off-street parking facility for any period of time longer than 24 hours."
• 12 hours on other city land. Any car left on city property "not designated for parking for a period longer than 12 hours."
• City Hall and the police station. A car parked against the posted signs on lots used with "city hall, police station, or other facilities of the city."
• A hazard. A car blocking traffic when the person in charge is absent or hurt too badly to move it.

Crestview's land development code adds that required off-street parking spaces "shall not be used for any purpose other than vehicular parking." A dead car waiting on parts in a business lot fits poorly under that line.

What the city code does not cover

The Crestview sections we found deal with streets, alleys, city lots and business parking. Private yards go unmentioned. State law covers the gap, and Crestview may have rules we did not find, so ask the city before parking a dead car in the yard for good.

After a tow: notice and the lien clock

Section 86-35 says that when a car is removed, "notice shall be provided to the owner pursuant to the provisions of F.S. § 713.78." Here is what that statute sets up:

• The towing and storage company holds a lien on the car.
• It must mail the car's registered owner, its insurer and any lender, using certified mail.
• That letter is tied to storage time: 35 days for an older model year, 57 for a newer one.

Fla. Stat. 715.07 also limits how far a nonconsensual tow from private land can go, by county size: 10 miles in a big county of 500,000 people or more, 15 in a smaller one. On public property, Fla. Stat. 705.103 has an officer post a notice giving 5 days to move abandoned property before it is removed. For getting a car back or signing it away, see towed or impounded.

A car that sat unregistered

Many dead cars carry an old tag. Miss a renewal and Florida adds a delinquent fee, scaled to the car's license tax, between $5 and $250. A notarized or certified affidavit of dead storage wipes out the license tax for those months. Driving the car is another matter: up to 6 months expired is a nonmoving ticket, and beyond that s. 318.14 first-offense rules kick in. Our sitting for years page covers the rest.

The title office: Shalimar

Crestview drivers head to Shalimar: 1250 N. Eglin Parkway, Suite 101. The Okaloosa County office answers at (850) 651-7300. Expect about 21 miles south, as the crow flies, from central Crestview.

Florida's seller rules

• Title. The seller's lines sit on the front of a Florida title: buyer's name and address, mileage, sale price, date. Per FLHSMV, no notary is needed for them.
• Plate. It is yours, not the buyer's. Reuse it on another car. Leaving the state, or ending the policy on that plate? Then a service center takes it back.
• Notice of Sale. Send form HSMV 82050 within 30 days, which Fla. Stat. 319.22 requires. It takes your registration off the car.
• Derelict certificate. Missing title on an old, low-value car? Form HSMV 82137 handles it when the car is 10-plus model years old (its model year counts as year one) and under $1,000 in value. Just two kinds of buyer can accept it. One is a salvage dealer the state has licensed; the other is a secondary metals recycler on the state's registered list. Either way it is taken apart or crushed. You can list on the form who will drive it and which company will haul it.
• No test first. Passenger cars in Florida skip emissions and safety checks entirely.

Nearby towns

Fort Walton Beach is 22.5 miles away, Pensacola 42.1 and Panama City Beach 54.9. See Florida for the statewide rules, and who buys cars for parts for how the options compare.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Share the basics: model year, maker, miles, does it start, and the title. We come to it: a backyard on the north side of town, a spot near the courthouse or a repair shop lot.