Sell a dead or junk car in North Port

We buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US, whichever corner of North Port it is parked in.

The residential-lot rule

The operative sentence in Section 59-1 is short: "No inoperable vehicle shall be parked on a residential lot unless it is contained within an enclosed structure, or in compliance with the standards contained herein." The definition is broad on purpose. It names "any automobile, car, truck, van, sport utility vehicle (SUV), or an off-highway vehicle or ATV."

So a pickup on flat tires, a minivan with a lapsed registration and a dead ATV by the shed are all in scope. An enclosed garage works.

The same section sets limits on other vehicles at home, which matters if you are making room. A property owner may keep a boat, light-duty vehicle, recreational vehicle or trailer on a residential lot only when the lot has a principal structure. Heavy-duty vehicles go in the side or rear yard only, and must be screened from the street and the neighbors.

Public property: five days

Off your own lot, the clock is shorter and plainer. Section 42-57 says "Vehicles on public property in a wrecked, inoperative or partially dismantled condition or which have been left for a period of five days or longer shall be presumed to be abandoned." A car that dies on a city street can be treated as abandoned right away if it is wrecked or partly dismantled, and any car left five days is presumed abandoned whatever its condition.

Tows from private property

Section 42-59 governs cars towed from someone else's property, such as an apartment lot or a plaza where the car broke down. The property owner, the lessor, an authorized person or the police can have it removed by a towing business. A few protections for the car's owner are written in:

• The tow company must tell the police department within 30 minutes of the tow where the car went, when, and its make, model, color and plate.
• If you reach the car before it is hauled off, the tower must disconnect it and let you take it for a service fee of "not more than one-half of the posted rate."
• A tower that charges before release must file its rates with the police and post them at the storage site.
• Tow trucks must show the firm's name, address and phone number on both doors in letters at least two inches high.

State towing law adds a distance cap. Without the owner's consent, a car hauled off private land must be kept within 10 miles of the pickup point if the county has 500,000 residents or more; elsewhere the limit is 15 miles.

Registration that ran out

A lapsed registration is what pushes many parked cars into the code's definition. In Florida, driving a car whose registration lapsed up to 6 months ago is a noncriminal nonmoving violation; once it is past 6 months, it becomes a first-offense penalty. Miss a renewal and a flat late fee of $5 to $250 kicks in on day 11 of the following month. Selling the car ends the question.

Where the title paperwork happens

North Port sellers are pointed to the Sarasota County Tax Collector branch on Washington Boulevard in downtown Sarasota (number 101, phone (941) 861-8300). That drive covers about 28 miles northwest as the crow flies, so it helps that a private sale rarely needs a counter visit.

The seller's half of a Florida title takes no notary stamp. Print the purchaser's name, their street address, the odometer number, the price agreed and the sale date. A recorded lien has to be paid and cleared by the lender before anything transfers. From the sale date, the purchaser gets 30 calendar days to retitle before late penalties apply.

Title lost on an old car? The derelict certificate, HSMV 82137, filed through the county tax collector, fits a North Port car valued under $1,000 whose age reaches ten model years, with its own model year treated as the first. The car must then be scrapped or dismantled and will never carry a title again. Selling with no title covers duplicates and the other options.

Your plate and the notice of sale

Your tag leaves with you. Screw it onto the replacement car later, or surrender it to a service center when relocating to another state or ending its insurance policy.

HSMV 82050 is how a seller tells the state the car is gone, and it is due within 30 days. Complete the seller sections, numbers 1 and 3; the purchaser does not have to sign. Once filed, your registration comes off the car, and the state says it helps you avoid civil liability. After you sell lists the remaining steps.

There is no emissions or safety inspection for private passenger cars in Florida, so nothing has to pass a test before the sale.

Nearby towns

Punta Gorda is 13.8 miles away, Venice 14.0, Sarasota 28.7 and Cape Coral 31.2. Statewide rules are on our Florida page.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Share the model year, brand, model and miles, say if it moves under its own power, and mention any title trouble. Our driver collects it from a garage, an apartment lot, or the tow yard holding it. Junk car removal explains how a pickup works.