Selling a disabled or junk car in Winter Springs

Section 12-53 reaches every kind of property

The rule covers anyone "in charge or in control of any property, public or private within the city, whether an owner, tenant, occupant, lessee, or otherwise". That person may not let "any derelict, disabled or abandoned vehicle" sit on roads, alleys, easements, rights-of-way or private land, unless a fully closed-in building or a qualifying business property holds it.

Even the shop is not a long-term home. "A disabled vehicle may not remain on the premises of an auto repair business or storage business in excess of one hundred eighty (180) days."

What the inspector looks for

The code lists the kind of evidence that shows a car is disabled, including:

• staying "at the same location for forty-eight (48) consecutive hours"
• "vegetation underneath as high as the vehicle body or frame"
• refuse or debris collected underneath
• being used only for storage
• missing big pieces such as the engine or transmission

Two notices, two clocks

Who posts the notice decides how long you get.

Code inspector: 10 calendar days. The inspector puts a written notice on the window saying the car "must be removed within ten (10) calendar days or it will be subject to removal by the city." With no appeal and no fix, the city has the car taken to a storage facility approved by the city commission and disposed of under state or city law.

Police under Chapter 705: 5 calendar days. On a case handled under state abandoned-property law, the officer's window notice gives "five (5) calendar days". Florida's own statute works the same way on public property: a posted notice, 5 days, then removal.

If the car is already on a tow lot, read towed or impounded.

Boats and campers go behind the house

Section 20-431 bars parking a recreational vehicle, boat or boat trailer overnight in any city street right-of-way. At home they go behind the front building line on a paved surface. That matters if the dead vehicle is a camper or a trailer.

The title office and Florida paperwork

For Seminole County we checked 1101 E. First St., Sanford, phone (407) 665-1000. Measured direct, it's roughly 9 miles north of central Winter Springs. Seminole may have other offices too.

To sell, sign the title's seller portion and add the buyer's details, the mileage, the price and the day; a notary has no role. The Notice of Sale is due inside 30 days. You unscrew the tag and hold on to it.

No title? In Winter Springs, a car under $1,000 in value and in its tenth model year or older may go on the derelict certificate, HSMV 82137, to a properly licensed or registered salvage dealer or metals recycler. The form has room to list who will haul it, and once used, the car is barred from ever getting a title again. See selling with no title.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or on the form. Winter Springs owners can start on our offer form. We collect from homes, shops or office lots. Casselberry is about 4 miles away and Oviedo about 5. The Florida page has the state rules.