Selling a junk or dead car in Gainesville

The ten-day notice

Gainesville's process for abandoned and wrecked vehicles runs on paper. Under Section 26-140, the notice "shall indicate the date upon which it is issued" and warns that the vehicle "will be impounded and costs imposed unless removed or repaired within ten days after the date of issuance of the notice, so as to no longer be in violation."

The windshield is not the only place it lands. The enforcing official also mails a copy, "by certified mail, return receipt requested, and regular first class mail," to the owner's address on Florida's motor vehicle records. Out-of-state plates get the notice at the address their own state has on file.

It also explains how to push back. To contest the impoundment and the charges, "the owner must, within ten days after the issuance of the notice, deliver to the city manager a written request for a hearing." After a proper impoundment, getting the car back takes payment of "reasonable towing, storage and notice costs."

So those ten days cover every choice: repair, remove, or request a hearing. Doing nothing ends, eventually, with the junk sale feeding the general fund.

Outdoor storage

Gainesville's land development code folds "the storage of inoperable motor vehicles" into its definition of outdoor storage, meaning storage outside a completely enclosed building. In the code's eyes a dead car left in the open for months is storage, not parking.

City lots, unpaid tickets and the boot

Three rules catch cars that sit too long in public:

• 48 hours in a city lot. Section 26-95: "Any vehicle left parked in any city off-street parking lot for in excess of 48 hours may be impounded in the depository provided by the city for such purpose."
• Three unpaid tickets. A boot goes on, under Section 26-53.
• Five unpaid tickets. The car is impounded instead.

The cost of towing, booting and storage "shall be a lien upon the vehicle." Gainesville police release it only after those charges, storage, and any outstanding delinquency or collection fees are paid.

Towing from apartment complexes

If the car died in an apartment complex lot, Section 14.5-29 limits who can tow it. The property owner must have filed a written trespass-towing agreement with the city's towing administrator "at least 24 hours prior to the towing or removal of any vehicle." At residential property other than a single-family home, the tow company needs "a verified request to remove the specific vehicle by the property owner," unless the owner has opted into roam towing. That option requires the words "roam towing" on each tow-away sign, with the hours or "24-hours."

Once a towed car is in storage, state law takes over. The tow yard, as lienholder, must mail certified notice to three parties: you, your insurer, and any lender. The statute times those letters by the car's age:

• older models: day 35 of storage
• newer models: day 57 Read towed or impounded before the bill grows.

The Alachua title office

Titles for Gainesville go through the Alachua County tax collector at 12 SE 1st Street. From the center of the city that office is about 2 miles to the southeast, measured as the crow flies. Phone (352) 374-5236.

Florida title and plate rules

No title and an old car. Form HSMV 82137, the derelict certificate, fits Gainesville cars past their tenth model year and below $1,000 in value. On that form a Gainesville seller deals only with state-licensed salvage firms or registered recyclers, and the car never gets a fresh title. A tow company enforcing a storage lien is barred from using the form. If someone else's name is on the title, see car not in your name.

Why the Notice of Sale matters. Section 319.22 sets the 30-day deadline. Once it is on file, your registration comes off the car; the buyer need not sign it.

What Florida means by junk. Something that used to be a car, no longer runs, and is worth most as metal or parts.

A car abandoned on public land. Chapter 705 lets an officer post a 5-day notice, then remove and dispose of the property.

Lapsed registration. If the tag expired six months ago or less, driving on it is a noncriminal nonmoving violation.

Nearby cities

Ocala is 36.6 miles away, Jacksonville 61.2, Wildwood 63.7 and Palm Coast 67.1. Each writes its own rules. Statewide details are on Florida.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Gainesville sellers can sum the car up in one line: model, miles, engine, title. Pickup can happen at an apartment lot off a Gainesville side street, a carport, a repair shop, or a driveway across town. Afterward, after you sell covers the plate and the notice of sale.