Selling a dead or junk car in Conyers

Why the city wants junk cars gone

Section 11-2-40 opens with the goal: "to eliminate junk vehicles from the City." It gives the reasons in a long list: such cars lower property values, "invite plundering and vandalism," create fire hazards, draw children, shelter pests and leak fluids into the ground.

The same section says the junk vehicle article is "supplemental" to other city, county and state rules, so state law applies in Conyers as well. In Georgia, a car left alone on private property for 30 days or more is treated as abandoned. We never saw the full wording of Section 8-7-93(o), so ask Conyers city staff about any grace period first.

The 72-hour street rule

Moving the car to the curb starts a different clock. Under Section 10-1-13, any vehicle that "shall remain parked continuously in the same location on any street in the City for the period of 72 hours or more may be impounded by the Police Department." The section says this applies notwithstanding the state's own rule of the road on the subject.

Where a towed car goes

Section 9-14-4 keeps every wrecker company's storage lot inside Rockdale County, and no two companies may share one. Each lot has a sign with the company's name, phone number and hours, a monitored land line during business hours, video surveillance and a perimeter alarm. A car whose interior is open to the weather gets wrapped in plastic. The zoning code, Section 8-7-92.71, requires a solid fence or wall "at least eight feet high on all sides."

State rules then take over. The tow company has 15 calendar days to contact each owner, either by certified mail or in person. That letter must warn Conyers owners that after ten calendar days the tow company may take its lien to court.

The Rockdale County tag office we checked

The office at 1088 West Avenue, phone (770) 278-7600, is about 2 miles west of downtown Conyers in a straight line. Rockdale may run other offices we did not check. The county falls under emissions testing for 2002-2023 gasoline cars and light trucks.

Title and plates for a Conyers sale

Georgia splits a sale into two parts. Start on the back of the title. In the seller's section, print and sign your name, have every joint owner do the same, and write in the miles. After that, end the Conyers registration through DRIVES e-Services or turn in an MV-18J at the West Avenue office. Keep the insurance going until that step is finished.

The plates are yours to keep. A missing title can be reissued for $8.00 using Form MV-1. For a 1985-or-older car, Georgia skips the title and uses a bill of sale. If the car ever sat in high water, Georgia brands such titles "Flood Damaged"; see flood damage.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form about your Conyers car. Our truck can collect it from a hotel lot, a driveway near Olde Town or a shop on the way to Stonecrest. Also close: Snellville, Stockbridge and McDonough. For state rules, see Georgia.