McDonough junk and disabled cars: the rules, then selling

What counts as junk in McDonough

Chapter 10.28 calls a vehicle abandoned and junked if it meets one or more listed conditions, and one of them is simply "Lacking current registration (license plate, current registration decal)." Under Section 10.28.020, a junked vehicle on public property or on any private lot, "occupied or unoccupied, improved, or unimproved," counts as a public nuisance, and the code forbids anyone to "suffer, permit or allow" one to stay.

Three places are exempt: a completely enclosed building, a property used for vehicle repair in line with zoning, and a licensed junkyard.

The same section says the city will remove and dispose of junked vehicles "when requested by the owner," or when they are a health hazard or unsightly nuisance.

The 15-day notice

Section 10.28.040 sets the clock. The director of public safety or an authorized agent issues a notice asking that the nuisance "be abated within 15 days from the notice."

• A known owner is served in person or by registered mail.
• An owner who cannot be found is served by a notice on the car plus a legal ad once a week for two weeks.
• The owner of the land is served too, as a separate offense.

Remove the car before the 15 days end and the code calls that compliance; nothing more happens to you or the landowner. If it stays, both get citations to municipal court, which may order the car removed and disposed of.

Left at a repair shop

If your car sits at a McDonough repair business, Section 17.100.120 limits outdoor storage to "forty-eight (48) hours unless awaiting repair for which a work order, signed by the vehicle owner, is posted in the vehicle." A car you have decided not to fix may not be welcome there long. State law goes further: a car left at a shop and not picked up for 30 days becomes "abandoned."

Impound and the 30-day sale

To get the car back, McDonough's Section 10.20.050 has you prove your identity and ownership to the chief of police and pay removal and storage fees.

Under Section 10.20.070, a car police removed from a street and stored that "remains uncalled for as long as thirty (30) days" is sold by the chief of police after a newspaper ad. The ad says the car will be offered for sale once ten days pass. See towed or impounded.

Henry County title office

We checked the Henry County tag office at 140 Henry Parkway in McDonough (770-288-8180). Measured as the crow flies, it is only about 2 miles southwest of the city's center. Henry may operate other offices.

Georgia rules for the sale:

• The title's back is the seller's job; co-owners each print and sign.
• You keep the plates. A McDonough seller starts by canceling the tag with Form MV-18J or on DRIVES e-Services. Then drop the insurance.
• A McDonough buyer has 7 days from the purchase date to title and register. Wait past 30 days to apply for a title and Georgia adds a $10.00 penalty.
• Model year 1985 or older? No Georgia title is needed. A bill of sale does the job.

More in selling a junk car.

Getting an offer

Ask online or by phone at (877) 421-6008. Start with the offer form for your McDonough car. We collect from a McDonough house, a repair shop or a lot. Nearby: Stockbridge, Griffin, Stonecrest and Georgia.