Selling a dead or junk car in Rockledge

One car, or none?

Section 18-14 sets the "more than one" limit, and it also bars repairing, rebuilding or tearing down more than one vehicle at a time on a lot. In zones that allow storage or repair of wrecked vehicles, they must be inside opaque walls or a solid fence tall enough to hide them.

Section 16-45, in the property maintenance chapter, is stricter. It says "no inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises," and "no vehicle shall at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled." Read together, even one broken or unplated car can still draw a case under the maintenance rules.

In the industrial park district, Section 118-592 is flat: "No motor vehicle which is inoperable" may be stored on any lot.

The ten-day posted notice

Section 18-13 treats junk left in yards and vacant lots as abandoned property and a nuisance. An enforcement officer posts notice that the item "must be removed within ten days from the date of this notice, otherwise it shall be presumed to be abandoned property and will be removed and destroyed by order of the City Council."

If ten days pass with nothing done, the officer may have it "removed and destroyed," and the city keeps whatever salvage value it has. In other words, a car the city destroys pays the city, not you.

Front yards and streets

• Front yard. Section 30-103 makes it unlawful to park any vehicle in the front yard or corner side yard, between the right-of-way and the house, "overnight or for more than a four-hour period." The same line appears in Section 16-45.
• Street, generally. Section 30-65 bars leaving "any inoperable motor vehicle upon any street, highway or public property within the City." A car that breaks down unavoidably while being driven, and is then left in a lawful spot, is the exception.
• Street, ten days. Section 30-66 caps street or public-property parking at ten days when a car is "wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled or lacking a valid license plate for the current year." After a citation is posted, every six hours the car stays counts as a new violation.

The Viera office, five miles south

Viera's FLHSMV office, Suite A108 at number 2725 on Judge Fran Jamieson Blvd., is roughly 5 miles south of Rockledge as the crow flies. Phone (321) 264-6935. Electronic titles get reassigned there or at another service center, with seller and buyer both present and carrying photo ID.

Florida title and plate rules

FLHSMV's procedure leaves the notary out. In the title's "Transfer of Title by Seller" block, enter who bought the car and their address, the odometer figure, what they paid and when. Replace a lost title before the sale, and clear any loan first, since the lender has to report the payoff.

Without a title, an older, low-value car still has a legal route. HSMV 82137, the derelict certificate, lets a licensed salvage dealer, or a registered secondary metals recycler, take a Rockledge car worth less than $1,000 whose model year is 10 or more years back. It cannot be titled again after that.

Florida plates belong to the seller. Take yours off and reuse it, or turn it in if that insurance is ending. A Rockledge seller then has 30 days to submit the notice of sale, HSMV 82050. Our wrecked or totaled and missing parts guides cover cars in rougher shape.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008 with the basics: year, make, model, rough mileage, whether it starts, and where the title is. A Rockledge backyard, carport or shop lot all work for pickup. Melbourne, Titusville and Palm Bay each have a page of their own, and Florida covers the state.