Selling a junk car in Canton

If the tag lapsed because the car stopped running, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

The 30-day nuisance

Section 33-2 lists "Unsheltered storage of old, unused, stripped, junked and other automobiles not in good and safe operating condition" for "a period of 30 days or more, except in licensed junkyards" as a nuisance. Section 33-4 names who must fix it, "jointly and severally": whoever owns, rents or occupies the lot, plus whoever owns the stored car. The fix is to park the car in a fully enclosed building or have it towed away.

The same section also names "Vehicle parts or other articles of personal property which are abandoned or left in a state of partial construction or repair in front yards, side yards, driveways, sidewalks or walkways and are visible from a public street." A car on jack stands with the hood off, in view of the road, is the textbook case.

Ten days' notice, then the police

Section 33-97 is the removal step. A junked or discarded motor vehicle "shall be removed upon ten days' written notice" to the owner or occupant of the premises, or to the car's owner if that person can be found "through license plates or otherwise." If it is still there after ten days, "the police department shall remove the motor vehicle or cause the removal" at the cost of the occupant, the property owner or the car's owner.

Parking tickets and the boot

Canton counts unpaid tickets. Under Section 58-93, a written notice of outstanding violations gives the owner "seven days to pay." After the owner has had written notice of four unpaid citations, police may boot or tow "without further written notification." The chief of police must tell the registered owner within two business days. To get the car released, you show "satisfactory evidence of his right to possession" and sign a receipt. Section 58-83 adds that past a posted time limit over 20 minutes, each extra hour is a separate violation.

The Cherokee County tag office

One Cherokee County tag office we checked is at 2780 Marietta Hwy, (678) 493-6400, roughly 3 miles south of downtown Canton as the crow flies; Cherokee may run other branches.

A missing title is replaced there for $8.00 with an MV-1, after any lienholder releases. Cherokee is also inside Georgia's emissions testing area, and in Canton a lapsed tag is itself evidence of a junked car.

Selling closes the loop

Here is the catch in Canton: Georgia plates stay with the seller, so once you sell, the plate comes off and the car carries none. Have it picked up rather than leaving it parked plateless. A Canton sale has two parts. You sign over the title, then cancel the registration on DRIVES e-Services or with an MV-18J at a Cherokee County tag office. Cancel the insurance after the registration, not before. After you sell and Georgia cover the details.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, run through the car for us: year, make, model, miles, whether it fires up, and title status. We collect cars near the town square, at a home off Marietta Highway, or at a shop in Holly Springs, 5.5 miles away, or Woodstock.