Sell a junk or dead car in Wildwood, Florida

How the code sorts a dead car

Section 13-31 sets out two categories, and a car can land in either one.

Abandoned motor vehicle. One "which is inoperable and is left unattended on public or private property for more than 72 hours." It also covers a car that has stayed illegally on any property for more than 72 hours, or on private property for that long without the property owner's consent.

Derelict or junk motor vehicle. One "which has the wheels, current registration, engine or a substantial part thereof removed." This is where the tag clause matters: no current tag is prima facie evidence of this category.

The code's idea of a "vehicle" is wide. It names automobiles, trucks, trailers, motorcycles, tractors, buggies and wagons. It also takes in "such machines or parts of machines that are nonoperating, wrecked, junked, or partially dismantled." A shell on blocks counts, and so does a pile of body parts.

The 72-hour rule

Section 13-32 is the core rule. It is unlawful "to keep, dump, store, abandon, place or maintain any partially dismantled, wrecked, junked or derelict vehicle on any street or highway within the city, or upon any property for longer than 72 hours." There are two ways out. The car can be legally inside an enclosed building on the property, or on "the solidly enclosed and sightly fenced premises" of a lawful business.

Note what is missing from that list: a carport, a tarp, or the back corner of a big lot. Wildwood covers 58.226 square miles, and the rule reaches "any property" anywhere inside those limits.

Police seizure and towing

Section 13-34 lets the police department seize, impound and store a vehicle that:

• "appears to be abandoned on any street or highway or other public place of the city"
• is illegally parked on a street or highway, other than a meter or overtime violation
• "is parked on the streets at night in violation of the ordinances of the city"
• "is a derelict or junk vehicle or boat on any property," except where Section 13-32 allows it

For illegally parked cars, Section 12-95 lets the police keep the car where it was taken "until all fines and charges assessed for moving and storage" are paid.

State law takes over once a towing company holds the car. Fla. Stat. 713.78 makes a tow operator holding a lien mail certified notice to everyone with a stake: owner of record, insurance company, lienholders. That statute's notice timing runs from storage: 35 days on older models, 57 on newer ones. Fla. Stat. 715.07 limits how far a car may travel after an unconsented tow off private land. Big counties (500,000 or more people) cap the distance to the storage lot at 10 miles; smaller ones allow 15. If yours is already behind a fence, read towed or impounded.

Registration that lapsed while it sat

If the tag ran out long ago, back fees may be on your mind. Under Fla. Stat. 320.07, a missed renewal brings a flat delinquent fee of between $5 and $250, set by the license tax, applied from the 11th day of the month after the due month. A car that did not have to be registered in the prior period escapes it. Fla. Stat. 320.18 goes further. Months spent off the road in dead storage carry no license tax, if you can show a notarized or certified affidavit. Being caught driving on a tag that expired within the last 6 months is a nonmoving, noncriminal infraction. Sitting for years has more on old registrations.

Title and tags, through Bushnell

Sumter County's office is at 220 E. McCollum Avenue in Bushnell, phone (352) 569-6740. That puts it some 12 miles southwest of the middle of Wildwood, as the crow flies.

• Notary: not required on a Florida title.
• Seller's part: printed on the title's face. It records who bought the car, their address, the odometer, the price and when.
• Tag: yours, not the buyer's. Reuse it later. Leaving the state, or cancelling the insurance that plate carries? Surrender it to a service center.
• Notice of Sale: HSMV 82050. Fla. Stat. 319.22 gives a 30-day window. Filing it is how a seller avoids civil liability later.
• Brands: Under Florida law, repair costs reaching 80 percent of a like-kind replacement make the car a total loss. Water-damage totals get a flood stamp on the title from the department before any sale. See flood damage.

Nearby towns

Leesburg is the closest neighbor with its own page, 8.8 miles away. Tavares is 15.4 miles off, Groveland 16.9, and Eustis 20.3. Each city writes its own junk-car rules, so check the page for the town where the car sits.

Getting an offer

Share the basics online or at (877) 421-6008. Give us its year and model, the odometer number, whether it fires up, and whether a Florida title exists. Our truck goes to the car, be it a pole barn on acreage outside town, a driveway off US 301, or a garage in a newer neighborhood. Statewide rules live on the Florida page.