Selling a dead or junk car in Dalton

Street clocks: 24 hours and five days

Section 114-277 sets two limits on public streets and property:

• "No vehicle shall be left in an inoperable condition on a public street or highway for a period of more than 24 hours."
• "No vehicle shall be abandoned or left unattended on a public street or highway or other public property for a period of more than five days."

Break either one and the car "may be impounded by the police department at the owner's expense, and the owner may be subject to fine."

Once a car is towed, Section 114-278 makes it unlawful to remove it, or try to, from the storage place the chief of police designated. Getting it back means going through the lot, not around it.

From impound to auction

The sale rule in Section 114-276 runs on two short clocks back to back. A car "not claimed by the lawful owner thereof after being impounded for two weeks shall be advertised for sale for two weeks in the official newspaper of the county and in two public places." Georgia's state rules add that a tow firm must notify every owner within 15 calendar days of removal, by certified mail or hand delivery. If you get that letter and don't want the car back, decide quickly.

What counts as junked on private property

Dalton's zoning definitions describe a junked vehicle as one that is "in an inoperative condition, by reason of its having been wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, abandoned, or discarded, and which does not have a valid license plate and current year tag attached thereto." The wording pairs two parts: the car is inoperative, and it lacks a valid plate and current year tag.

The nuisance chapter uses a similar list. Section 50-180 names "Abandoned vehicles" that are "not road worthy, inoperable, do not have current license plates and are not located completely within a fully enclosed, standing and permanent structure."

Businesses have their own rule. Section 50-149 bars open storage of an inoperable vehicle on nonresidential property unless a fence "of sufficient height and opacity" hides it.

How a nuisance case works in Dalton

The process is civil, not criminal. Under Section 50-179, a written finding from an inspector, code officer, police officer or similar official, based on a physical inspection of the property, is evidence that an inoperable vehicle is there. The question "is neither criminal or quasi-criminal in nature," and the court "shall not impose a fine as a condition of its order to abate."

The court's order spells out the condition and gives "a reasonable time period" to remove it. If the owner does not act in that time, the city may "take all reasonable and necessary actions to abate the nuisance." Selling the car before the deadline ends the case on your terms.

A related rule for driveways: Section 6-4 keeps heavy commercial vehicles, including any with three or more axles, out of the R-1 through R-7 residential zones.

Title offices we checked, and no emissions test

Whitfield County is not among Georgia's 13 emissions counties, so a Dalton car needs no test to sell or register.

Georgia titles are handled by each county's tag office, and Whitfield runs one too, though it is not among the three we checked. Those three sit south of Dalton in neighboring counties, measured as the crow flies:

• Gordon County: 215 North Wall Street, Calhoun, (706) 629-9242, about 18 miles
• Bartow County: 135 West Cherokee Avenue, Cartersville, (770) 387-5112, about 43 miles
• Floyd County: 5 Government Plaza, Rome, (706) 291-5150, about 44 miles

Selling a Georgia-titled car from Dalton

Turn the title over first. You print and sign your name in the seller's assignment, and so does any co-owner. Write the mileage in whole miles. Don't erase or correct anything in that block; Georgia says changes can void the title.

Before the original goes to the Dalton buyer, copy the signed title plus any bill of sale. Under Georgia rules the buyer has 7 days, one week, to title and register the car. If the buyer waits more than 30 days to apply, a $10.00 title penalty applies on their side. Finish your Dalton sale by ending the registration with an MV-18J at a tag office or through DRIVES e-Services. Do that before you stop the insurance.

The plates stay with you. No title in the drawer? Form MV-1 and $8.00 get a new one. A 1985-or-older car is sold on a bill of sale. See junk car with no title and after you sell.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or fill out the form. Send the offer form about your Dalton car. We can haul it from a home, a business lot or a shop toward Calhoun. Other Georgia pages up the road: Rome, Cartersville and Canton. Statewide rules: Georgia.