Selling a dead or junk car in Ormond Beach

What the city calls abandoned

Section 14-85 has two triggers. A car is covered if it is "in a state of disuse, neglect or abandonment for seven consecutive days," or if it "does not have displayed upon it, in the manner required by law, a current license tag and validation decal." So an expired decal alone can do it.

The code lists signs of neglect, among them a "vehicle being wrecked and inoperative as evidenced by vegetation underneath as high as the vehicle body or frame," junk under it, a car "used solely for storage purposes," or one partly taken apart. Here "motor vehicle" stretches to boats, trailers, motorcycles and tractors.

The tow-warning emblem and its deadlines

Enforcement starts with a sticker. Under Section 14-88, a neighborhood improvement officer who believes a car is abandoned fixes a "tow-warning" emblem to the windshield. The officer may not walk through a closed gate in a fence without consent. Within 24 hours the neighborhood improvement manager also notifies the car's owner, if known, and the landowner.

From there:

• Ten days to object. File written objection "no later than ten (10) days from the date of the posting."
• Five more days to move it. With no objection, or a loss before the special master, you get "five (5) additional days."
• Day 15. No objection and the car still there 15 days after posting? The manager must ask a city officer to have it removed.

Someone else's car, or a car on the street

Section 14-86 says "No person shall abandon or discard for any length of time a motor vehicle on the private property of another person." A resident stuck with one may call a tow company, following Florida Statute 715.07. That statute limits the storage yard's distance. A county with at least 500,000 people allows 10 miles. A smaller county allows 15.

On public streets, Section 20-8 calls any vehicle "remaining in one position more than 24 hours in an otherwise unrestricted area" illegally parked.

A car that took on water

Florida law has its own words for a soaked car. The total-loss line sits at 80 percent: once repairs reach that share of a comparable replacement's cost, the car is totaled. When water damage is the cause, it becomes a flood vehicle. The state stamps that word on the title, and only then may the car change hands. FLHSMV calls such a stamp a brand and says insurers report flooded cars. Read flood damage and wrecked or totaled.

Title and plates from Ormond Beach

Title work means a drive to DeLand: Room 103, 123 W Indiana Ave., (386) 254-4610. On a map, that counter lies about 22 miles southwest of Ormond Beach as the crow flies.

Nearby

Daytona Beach is 7.1 miles south, Port Orange 13.5 and Palm Coast 18.9 to the north. Statewide rules are on Florida.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or go online. Mention the model and mileage, whether it runs, and any brand or loan on the title. If an Ormond Beach tow-warning emblem is already on the glass, tell us, and the truck can collect the car from the driveway where it sits.