Selling a junk or dead car in Lakeland

Parking rules that hit a car that will not move

Lakeland's traffic code is strict about where a car sits. Under Section 98-31, it is unlawful to park "alongside of or adjacent to any such parking space unless the parked vehicle is within the lines defined by the city traffic engineer." A car that coasted to a stop half in a space breaks that rule.

Section 98-75 goes wider. It covers parking "next to any curb or on any surface which has been painted yellow, striped for no parking, marked no parking, or any area not specifically marked as a space."

The money keeps growing if the tickets sit. Pay a 98-31 notice within 21 days, or a 98-75 notice within ten days, or an additional penalty under Section 98-4 applies. After that, the violation "may be prosecuted as provided in F.S. § 316.1967."

Dead cars on private land in Lakeland

The Lakeland code sections in our research cover parking, not junk cars on private land. That does not make a dead car in the yard safe from rules. Statewide law reaches every Lakeland lot regardless, and the city could keep further rules in parts of its code we did not read.

Florida's definitions are worth knowing:

• Junk under Statute 319.30 is an inoperable former motor vehicle whose main value is as scrap metal or parts.
• Abandoned property under Chapter 705 is property with no identifiable owner, left on public property "in a wrecked, inoperative or partially dismantled condition."
• If one is left on public land, Statute 705.103 tells an officer to put a notice on it. Five days later the agency may take it and dispose of it.

If it was towed

Two state rules shape what happens next. Statute 715.07 says a car towed from private land without consent must be held within 10 miles in a county of 500,000 people or more, or within 15 miles in a smaller one, like the rule Lakeland drivers fall under. And Statute 713.78 makes a towing-storage company holding a lien mail certified letters to three parties: the registered owner, the insurance company and every lienholder. Those letters follow a schedule tied to the car's age, 35 days into storage for an older model and 57 for a newer one. Our towed or impounded guide covers the choices.

Registration on a car that sat

Many Lakeland dead cars carry a tag that lapsed long ago. Miss the end of your renewal month and Florida adds a delinquent fee. The license tax sets it as a flat fee between $5 and $250. It starts on day 11 of the next month. Years in dead storage are a different story: prove them with a notarized or certified affidavit and no license tax is owed for that stretch. And skip the drive to a buyer. Once a registration has been expired over 6 months, driving on it is a heavier offense. Sitting for years has more.

The title, from Lakeland

Polk County's office at 430 East Main Street, Bartow, takes calls at (863) 534-4700. As the crow flies, Bartow sits about 13 miles southeast of central Lakeland. That is the office we checked; Polk may have more.

Selling in Florida takes four steps:

1. The seller's section sits on the title's front, and FLHSMV calls it Transfer of Title by Seller. Fill in the buyer's name and address there, plus the mileage, price and date. Skip the notary; Florida doesn't use one here.
2. Unbolt the plate. In Florida the seller keeps it and can put it on their next vehicle.
3. Inside 30 days, send FLHSMV form HSMV 82050, the Notice of Sale. That is what ends a Lakeland seller's liability.
4. No paper title? Before you sell, file HSMV 82101 for a duplicate. A Lakeland replacement title is $75.25, plus $10.00 for Fast Title.

If an old car has no title, you can use the derelict certificate (HSMV 82137) as long as it's worth under $1,000 and is ten or more model years old. After that, a licensed salvage dealer or a registered recycler can buy it for scrap. It will not get a title again.

Getting an offer

Send the form or call (877) 421-6008. The offer form covers the details. Our Lakeland pickups happen at home driveways, downtown lots and shop bays. Plant City and Auburndale are each 10.3 miles away. The Florida page has the statewide rules.