Selling a dead or junk car in Eustis

The tag decides a lot

Any car that must be registered to be driven in Florida but lacks "a current valid license tag" is "presumptively deemed 'disabled or abandoned'" under 34-3. So a car that runs but carries an expired tag is treated as disabled unless you show otherwise. Businesses covered by the rule must keep unrepaired, inoperative and unsightly vehicles behind a fence-like structure that hides them from public view.

Fifteen days, then 28

The land development code adds a second clock. Section 110-5.11 says motor vehicles may not be stored for more than 28 consecutive days unless they are screened from the public right-of-way and adjacent properties. Repair shops and service centers may hold licensed cars that do not run while they wait for work, inside screened areas, for no more than 28 consecutive days.

For storage areas, the same section describes the screen it expects: an opaque wall, an opaque fence, or landscaping "of sufficient maturity, density and height." Section 110-5.14 allows residential vehicle parking only for vehicles that comply with 34-3.

On city streets and lots

Section 90-152 lets Eustis police move a vehicle to a public garage or other place of safety when it sits on a street beyond 72 hours, or beyond 24 hours in an off-street lot the city owns. The same goes for a disabled car blocking traffic when its driver is hurt or unable to deal with it. Before a car comes back, 90-154 requires that the removal and storage charges be paid and any police hold be lifted. Notice to the owner follows state law. Under Florida Statute 713.78, a towing company holding a lien writes to the registered owner, the insurer and lienholders by certified mail. See towed or impounded.

Where to do title work

The offices on our list are all well out of town:

• DeLand: 123 W Indiana Ave., Room 103, (386) 254-4610, a 26-mile straight shot northeast as the crow flies
• Sanford: 1101 E. First St., (407) 665-1000, about 26 miles east
• Orlando: 301 S. Rosalind Ave., (407) 434-0312, about 29 miles southeast

With a paper title in hand, you likely need none of them. Florida sellers complete the front of the title themselves, and no notary is involved.

Florida plate and paperwork rules

Unbolt the plate before the car leaves; it is yours to move to whatever you drive next. Florida Statute 319.22 sets a 30-day window for the Notice of Sale on HSMV 82050, and a motor vehicle service center will take it. If an insurer totaled the car for water damage, Florida requires a flood stamp on the title before any sale; flood damage explains what that means.

Getting an offer

Online or by phone at (877) 421-6008, start with the basics: what the car is, the mileage, whether it still moves under its own power, and whose title it is. We collect it from behind the fence, at a shop or at the curb. Nearby: Tavares, Apopka and Groveland. Statewide rules: Florida.