Selling a dead or junk car in Groveland

What makes a car "junked" in Groveland

Section 46-58 uses one test that has nothing to do with the engine: a motor vehicle "having no current valid license tag or current registration decal" qualifies on that alone. A car also qualifies if it is in "a state of evident disuse, neglect or abandonment," shown by:

• being wrecked
• vegetation underneath "as high as the vehicle or boat body or frame"
• being used only for storage
• being partly dismantled, with no engine, transmission or other major part

The rule binds whoever is in charge of the land, "whether an owner, tenant, occupant, landlord, or otherwise." It also covers boats, machinery and equipment.

Roadsides and streets

Section 74-24 gives Groveland police three clocks for taking a car off a street, alley or right-of-way:

• 48 hours for an apparently abandoned vehicle parked or stored outside a designated parking area, or within 30 feet of the pavement edge
• 72 hours on any street
• 24 hours parked in a lot the city runs off the street

A towed car goes to a storage facility "within reasonable proximity to the city" or to a police garage. The officer must make a reasonable effort to tell the owner that it was moved, why, and where. It is released once the towing and storage charges are paid.

Title offices, all a drive away

None of the offices on our list is close:

• Bushnell, 220 E. McCollum Avenue, (352) 569-6740: about 19 miles west, as the crow flies
• Orlando, 301 S. Rosalind Ave., (407) 434-0312: about 27 miles east
• Dade City, 14236 6th Street, Room 100, (352) 521-4360: about 31 miles southwest

The upside is that a Florida paper title can usually be signed over without a visit. Groveland sellers write the date, the price, the miles and the buyer's details right on the title, and FLHSMV calls for no notary.

Florida after the handoff

Keep your plate, because in Florida it follows the owner, not the car. Report the sale on HSMV 82050 inside 30 days so your registration comes off the car. No title at all? Form HSMV 82137, the derelict certificate, applies when the value is below $1,000 and the model year is at least ten back, and it lets you sell to licensed salvage dealers or registered metals recyclers. That ends the car's titled life for good. Read selling with no title and after you sell.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008, or go online and list the model and year, the odometer figure, whether it will crank, and what title you hold. The truck can meet the car under its tarp in the side yard, at a relative's place or at a shop. Nearby: Minneola, Leesburg and Clermont. Statewide rules: Florida.