Selling a junk or dead car in Sunrise

What Sunrise means by derelict

Section 9-51 gives a long list. A car is derelict when it is in "a state of evident disuse, neglect or abandonment," or it is:

• wrecked or partly taken apart, "having no motor, engine, transmission, or other major parts necessary for operation"
• sitting over "vegetation underneath as high as the body or frame," or over collected refuse
• "being used solely for storage purposes"
• running on tires that are not all inflated, or showing no current registration

The code declares such a car, or even its parts, "a nuisance to the general public" when it is left on a street, an alley, a right-of-way, "or upon any private property within the city limits."

The two clocks: one day and 10 days

The same section sets two limits. No one may abandon a vehicle "upon any public property within the city for a period of time in excess of twenty-four (24) hours." On private property, the limit is "ten (10) days."

So a car that died on a side street is on the short clock. One pushed into the driveway buys more time, but not much.

Section 8-10 covers towing from public property. Before a car is hauled away without the owner's consent, the city must post a permanent "tow-away zone" sign, set 3 to 6 feet above the ground, with the tow firm's name and phone number. It has to stand for at least twenty-four hours first. To get a towed car back, the owner "shall pay the costs of towing and storage prior to redemption."

One more rule if the dead vehicle is a work truck: Section 16-147 bars parking a commercial vehicle "within forty (40) feet of any street right-of-way" in the off-street lots it covers.

The Plantation title office, close by

One FLHSMV counter sits just over the line in Plantation: Suite 101 of the building at 1800 NW 66th Ave. From central Sunrise it lies southeast, roughly 2 miles off as the crow flies. Phone ahead: (954) 765-4697.

Florida paperwork for a dead car

Florida titles carry the seller's part on the front. Fill in the buyer, the buyer's home address, the odometer, the agreed sum, and the date your Sunrise car was handed over. Nobody has to notarize it.

Take your plate off before the truck leaves. Florida ties a plate to its owner, so yours can move to the next car you register.

Then, inside 30 days of the sale, report the Sunrise sale to Tallahassee on HSMV 82050, the Notice of Sale. Florida requires sellers to file it, and doing so pulls your registration off the dead car and helps keep later liability off you.

No title at all? If your car is old enough (10 model years or more, counting its model year as one) and its value sits under $1,000, you can file HSMV 82137 to get a derelict certificate and then pass the Sunrise car along to a salvage yard holding a state license for that work. The car is then scrapped and never titled again. See junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Online or by calling (877) 421-6008, share what you are driving (or not), the odometer number, if it cranks at all, and whose name sits on the Sunrise car's title. Pickup can be from a Sunrise driveway, a lot near Sawgrass Mills, or wherever the car stopped. Neighbors Tamarac and Lauderhill have their own pages, and Florida covers the statewide rules.