Selling a junk or dead car in Melbourne

Four sections, one chapter

Melbourne's junk-car rules sit together in Chapter 36.

36-19, storage. It is "unlawful for any person, either as owner, occupant, lessee, agent, tenant, or otherwise, to store or deposit" any abandoned, junked or discarded vehicle or trailer on private property in the city.

36-20, the tag test. "The absence of a license plate for the current year and/or the absence of a current motor vehicle registration shall be prima facie evidence creating a rebuttable presumption that such vehicle is abandoned, junked or discarded." An expired tag starts the case against the car before anyone looks under the hood.

36-21, removal. A junked vehicle on private premises "shall be removed upon ten days' written notice" to whoever owns or lives at the property. If nothing is done, police or code compliance tow the car. Melbourne bills the property's owner or occupant. If the city can identify the car's owner, that person may get it instead.

36-22, the ten-day outdoor limit. Covered above: no visibly inoperable vehicle outside a covered structure for more than ten days, and no working on cars you do not own.

Business lots have tighter windows

On some nonresidential land, Melbourne's zoning code says "storage of vehicles not in operation limited to seven days in each 90 consecutive day period, unless such storage is at all times in an enclosed structure." A dead work truck behind a shop or office can hit that seven-day limit. Impound yards follow their own 120-day cap, and they may hold no junked or wrecked vehicles except those awaiting repair.

No inspection to pass first

Florida ended its Motor Vehicle Inspection Program in 2000 and took that chapter out of the statutes. There is no emissions test or safety sticker to clear before a Melbourne car changes hands, whatever shape it is in.

Title and plates for a Brevard seller

We looked up a Brevard office in Viera at 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Blvd., Suite A108, phone (321) 264-6935. In a straight line it's about 10 miles northwest of central Melbourne. Brevard may have other locations.

Here is the order that keeps you covered:

1. Paper title: on its face, enter the buyer and their address, the miles, what they paid and the sale date. No notary.
2. Electronic title: the two of you appear in person at a service center, IDs in hand, to reassign it.
3. Take the plate off. In Florida it's yours to put on your next vehicle.
4. Melbourne sellers have 30 days to turn in HSMV 82050, the Notice of Sale.

From there the buyer gets 30 calendar days to title it before a late penalty applies. The rest is in after you sell.

Getting an offer

Melbourne owners can call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. We collect at work lots, shop lots or driveways near downtown. Next door, West Melbourne has its own carport rule, and Palm Bay is about 11 miles away. State rules are on the Florida page.