Selling a junk or dead car in Lake Worth Beach

Lake Worth Beach's three-part inoperable test

Under 15-39, a vehicle qualifies when it sits on public property, or on private property outside an enclosed building, and any one of these is true:

• a wheel or tire is "dismantled or deflated"
• it lacks a part or the "valid registration required by law for travel on public streets"
• it is "incapable of normal operation under its own power"

Such cars on private land are declared a public nuisance, and the code gives a duty to both the car's owner and the owner of the premises. A second rule in the property maintenance code, Section 2-75.6.2, forbids an "inoperative or unlicensed" vehicle anywhere on a Lake Worth Beach property. Major overhaul and body work are allowed, but only inside a structure approved for that use.

Posting, mailing and the deadline

The notice is stuck on the vehicle first. A copy also goes to whoever owns the land, and the officer must make "every reasonable effort" to track down the registered owner and send one there. Lake Worth Beach treats notice as given once it is posted and sent by both certified and regular mail, to the address on the car's title and to the landowner's mailing address on record. After the deadline, the city may tow and store the car and recover what it spent on removal, towing and storage.

One narrower clock: a disabled commercial vehicle on a street has 48 hours under Section 21-36 before it counts against the parking rule.

Already towed? The redemption window

Lake Worth Beach tows through a rotation of contractors. Section 17-36 requires that owners be able to redeem a car from the contractor's impound area from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on every business day. A closed lot must display a phone number. Call it, and a car without a police "hold" must be released "within one (1) hour." Section 21-63 lets the city run its own lot or use one kept by the contractor.

State law adds pressure if the car sits: under s. 713.78, the tow company holding a lien mails certified letters to everyone with a stake, from the owner of record to the insurance company to each lender. Our towed or impounded guide explains what comes next.

Title papers from Palm Beach County

Lake Worth Beach sellers use the county office on the third floor of 301 North Olive Avenue, up in West Palm Beach ((561) 355-2264). It is about 7 miles north, crow-flies distance.

A Florida seller signs without a notary. If the paper title has vanished, apply for a replacement on HSMV 82101 before the sale; the charge is $75.25, and Fast Title is $10.00 extra. An older car may skip the title entirely. Once it is ten model years old or more and worth below $1,000, Florida's derelict certificate, form HSMV 82137, opens a sale to a licensed salvage yard or a registered metals recycler; the car is then barred from ever being titled. More detail is in selling with no title.

Keep the plate; Florida plates belong to the seller. Report the sale to the state inside 30 days. And since Florida ended passenger-car emissions testing in 2000, there is no test to pass first.

Your next step

Phone (877) 421-6008 or ask online. Useful details: year, make, model, the odometer reading and the title situation. The truck can load from a side yard, a street spot or a repair shop. Neighbors in Palm Springs, Greenacres and Boynton Beach have their own pages, and Florida covers the statewide picture.