Selling a dead or junk car in Miami Beach

The derelict rule, read closely

Two things stand out in Section 142-873. First, the test is "or," not "and." A car that runs well but has no current registration and plate qualifies, and so does a registered car with a dead engine. Second, the ban covers "any parcel of land," which takes in a house lot, a condo garage space and a business lot alike.

A breakdown on the street

Miami Beach does not let people work on cars in the public right-of-way, which it defines to include "streets, roadways, alleys, highways, and portions of driveways that cross a public sidewalk." Section 82-126 allows only emergency repair on a car "which has become inoperable," and one condition is that the work "is commenced within 12 hours of the time when the vehicle became inoperable."

So if the car died on the street and the fix is a new engine, the street is not the place for it.

Lots, garages and work vans

If your dead car sits in a paid lot, Section 18-308 protects it from being shuffled onto the street. A permitted lot's owner, operator or staff may not move a parked car "to any public street, parking area or any other public or private property without the consent of the owner, the owner's agent, or the chief of police," unless the law allows it.

A broken-down work van at home has its own rule. Section 142-1103 allows one commercial vehicle with business lettering at the operator's home, but only in a garage or on a paved surface in a side or rear yard where it "is not visible from any right-of-way or adjoining property."

Title paperwork in Miami

Titles for Miami Beach cars are handled in Miami proper, at 200 NW 2nd Ave, roughly 4 miles southwest as the crow flies. The number there is (305) 375-5448.

Selling in Florida, step by step

1. Sign the seller's part of the title. It sits on the front. Fill in the buyer and their address, the mileage, the selling price and the date.
2. Pull your plate. It stays with you. The exceptions: leaving Florida, or dropping the policy behind it, means returning it to a service center.
3. File the sale notice. Under Florida Statutes 319.22 the seller has 30 days to send in form HSMV 82050. You complete parts 1 and 3; the buyer need not sign anything. Filing takes your registration off the car.

Nothing has to be inspected before the car leaves; the state stopped testing private cars in 2000. More in after you sell.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online and let us know the vehicle, the miles, if it starts, and if you can find the title. Pickup works from a repair shop, a residential street or a condo garage. Close by: Miami, North Miami, and Florida for state rules.