Selling a dead or junk car in Deerfield Beach

How the city decides a car is inoperative

The test is broad. An inoperative vehicle is one "not fully able to be operated legally or safely on the public roadways." Evidence can include parts that do not work, "the failure to contain current registration, or a failure to contain a tag visible from the outside of the vehicle at all times."

So a car that runs fine but has an expired tag can still fall under the rule.

A second section adds a slower clock. Section 34-126 lists, among public nuisances, "unsheltered storage for a period of 30 days or more" of "old and unused stripped junk and other automobiles not in good and safe operating condition." Junkyards holding a license are the exception.

Out on the street

On public property or a right-of-way, code enforcement gives written notice that the car "must be removed ... within 72 hours from the hour of the notice." After that, the code lets law enforcement "seize such vehicle" and take it to storage, with a notice saying when and where it went.

Police do not always need a notice first. Section 66-66 lets them remove a car left on a street "continuously for more than" twenty-four hours that "may be presumed to be abandoned," and a disabled car that blocks traffic.

If the city towed it

Section 66-43 adds "an administrative charge of $25.00 per motor vehicle towed" for a code violation, on top of the tow bill. The car is not released until it is paid.

Section 66-147 sets rules for tow companies working in the city. A tower must tell the Broward Sheriff's Office, Deerfield Beach District, within 30 minutes of a tow. If you call overnight, after 6 p.m. and before 8 a.m., to get a car out, the operator must have someone at the lot "within one hour."

The title office

Deerfield Beach shares Broward's Plantation service center with the rest of the county. Look for 1800 NW 66th Ave., Suite 101, or dial (954) 765-4697. Deerfield Beach sellers should plan on a drive: as the crow flies the office is roughly 13 miles to the southwest.

Closing out a Florida sale

A few state steps matter most for a dead car leaving Deerfield Beach:

• Loan still on it? Pay the lender first. The title stays put until that lender reports the debt cleared. See still owe on the loan.
• Electronic title? It cannot be signed at the curb. Both parties go in person to a Broward service center, carrying photo ID, and the odometer gets declared on the spot.
• The buyer's clock. Whoever takes the car owes a late transfer penalty if they wait past 30 calendar days to apply.
• Your clock. Florida law tells the seller to file HSMV 82050 within 30 days. A seller using it as a sale notice fills two parts, numbered 1 and 3; the buyer's line can stay blank.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online with the basics: what it is, its miles, whether it fires up, and if you hold a clean title. We can pick it up at the shop that has it, a condo lot by the pier, or a house a few blocks off the beach. Nearby pages: Pompano Beach, Boca Raton and Florida.