Ocala junk cars: the city rules, the title, the sale

When Ocala can take the car

Section 34-123 lets the police department impound property in several cases. A dead car can trip two of them. The first covers a vehicle that "is illegally parked on any street or highway," apart from meter and overtime tickets. The other is a vehicle that "is a derelict or junk vehicle on any property, except where authorized by the provisions of subsection 34-122(a)."

The fee caps in the same section are limits on the city, not a price for anything:

• up to $35 when the tow happens in daytime hours
• up to $45 when it happens at night
• a storage ceiling for each 24-hour period, lower for an outdoor yard than for indoor space, with any part of a day counted as a whole one

Who hears a dispute depends on where the car sits. Under Section 2-403, cases under 34-122 about "derelict or abandoned vehicles on private property only" go to the code enforcement board or a special magistrate. The building department director, or someone the director picks, decides which of the two.

The 72-hour rule for shops and car lots

Ocala holds businesses to a stricter screening rule. Section 34-151 makes it unlawful for a property owner, wrecker operator, repair shop or car dealer to keep "any wrecked, junked or partially dismantled motor vehicle" on site "in excess of 72 hours" unless it is enclosed or screened. The screen has to be an evergreen hedge, a solid fence or a masonry wall "not less than seven feet in height," and it must block the view from neighbors.

That matters if your car broke down and is waiting at a garage. After three days the shop owner has a reason to want it gone, and the car can move straight from the shop's lot to our truck.

Streets and parking lots

A dead car left at the curb downtown is not exempt either. Under Section 66-66, where signs post a time limit, shifting the car to another space in the same block or lot counts as "one continuous time period" for 12 hours from the first chalk mark. Wiping the chalk off a tire to beat the limit is its own violation. Under Section 46-279, the officer or recreation and parks employee who finds the car records its registration number and fixes a ticket or written notice to it.

The title counter in Ocala

The Marion County tax collector lists a motor vehicle office at 503 SE 25th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471, phone (352) 368-8200. Roughly 3 miles east of central Ocala as the crow flies, it is what the state calls a motor vehicle service center.

Most Ocala sellers can skip the trip. A Florida paper title carries a seller's block on its face, headed Transfer of Title by Seller. It asks for the purchaser's name and street address, the current odometer miles, the sale price and the sale date, and nobody has to notarize it.

Florida rules that apply in Ocala

The plate is yours. Unscrew it before the truck rolls; Florida lets it ride on your next car. Planning to drop the policy that covers it? In that case Florida wants the plate surrendered at a service center.

File the notice of sale. Statute 319.22 hands Florida sellers a 30-day window to report the sale on HSMV 82050. That report is what ends your liability for the car, so do it even when the buyer is a salvage yard.

No title, old car. Say the Ocala car has no title, dates back ten model years or more, and would appraise under $1,000. Florida then offers a way out without a title: HSMV 82137, the derelict motor vehicle certificate. Only two kinds of buyer qualify, registered secondary metals recyclers and licensed salvage motor vehicle dealers, and the car is barred from ever carrying a title again. There is a spot on the form to name whoever hauls it. A tow company holding the car on a storage lien may not use it. Our no-title guide covers the other routes.

If it is already in a tow lot. Under Statute 713.78, a wrecker company that claims a lien has to mail certified letters to the registered owner, any insurer and any lienholder. Older models get that letter on a 35-day timeline once storage begins, newer ones on a 57-day timeline. See towed or impounded for getting it out.

Getting an offer

Reach us online or at (877) 421-6008. Describe it for us: the vehicle itself, does it crank, and is the title in order. Our truck can load it from a driveway off the square, a shop lot on the east side or a field outside city limits. Nearby, we also cover Wildwood, Gainesville and Leesburg; statewide rules are on the Florida page.