St. Petersburg: selling a car that no longer runs

How Section 8-201 treats a dead car

The city's definition in Section 8-63 turns on where the car sits. An "inoperative motor vehicle" is one "located on private or public property outside of a legally constructed fully enclosed structure." A car in a closed garage is not the target. A car on the driveway, the side yard or the curb is.

The removal clause reads: if the owner or occupant "shall fail to remove such vehicle within ten days after having been served with written notice," the city "or a private contractor may remove such vehicle." It is then stored for 30 days. During that time you can reclaim it "after paying to the POD the reasonable charges for the removal and storage" and showing "adequate proof of ownership."

The notice is not a one-way letter. Section 8-201 says it must include "notification that a hearing may be held at the owner's or occupant's request."

Shorter clocks run for other stored items. Junk left on public property gets 36 hours after notice. A repeat violation for items stored on private property, within 180 calendar days, cuts the window "from ten days to 24 hours."

Front yards and parking boots

Section 16.40.100.4 keeps cars off the lawn in neighborhood zoning. A passenger car in the required front yard or street side yard must be on "a legally recognized driveway or parking area" or a maintained permeable parking area. "Each passenger motor vehicle observed in violation" counts separately, and each day is a new fine. Cars inside a fully enclosed garage or carport are exempt. The city can approve short-term placement for good cause, for no more than 90 days in any 12-month period.

Unpaid tickets bring a different problem. Under Section 26-172, three or more overdue parking citations (or one for a disabled space) can lead to a boot. The owner gets a mailed notice first, with ten calendar days to pay. If the fines are still unpaid "within 24 hours of the attachment of the immobilization device," the car can be towed and impounded. If that has already happened, see towed or impounded.

Paperwork at the Clearwater office

One Pinellas County motor vehicle office is Suite 100 of 29399 US Highway 19 North, in Clearwater. Call (727) 464-7777. From the middle of St. Petersburg that is about 20 miles north, as the crow flies.

Florida skips the notary. Up front on the certificate, your seller's portion wants the buyer's name plus their home address, then the odometer figure, the sale price and the day it changed hands. Then pull the plate. It stays yours and can go on your next car.

A Notice of Sale (HSMV 82050) is the last step, and state law gives you 30 days. Once filed, the car no longer carries your registration. Lost the paper title? Order a duplicate first. Old cars have one exception: when the car is old enough (10 model years, counting its own model year) and valued under $1,000, the owner can sell it to a salvage dealer using a derelict certificate, HSMV 82137. Such a car is barred from ever being titled again. More on both in selling with no title.

Getting an offer

Send the year, make, model and miles online, or call (877) 421-6008. Also mention if the engine starts and who's holding the title. Our truck can meet it at a curb downtown, a carport off a side street, or a repair shop that has given up on it. Pinellas Park is 7.7 miles away and Largo 12.8. Statewide notes are on the Florida page.