Selling a junk or dead car in Stockbridge

Junked or abandoned under Section 10.12.115

A "junked motor vehicle" here is "any wrecked, non-operable, dismantled automobile, truck, trailer, recreational vehicle, motor home, or other vehicle." The section makes it unlawful "to suffer, permit or allow junked or abandoned motor vehicles to be parked, let or maintained in his own real property." Wrecking or abandoning a car on someone else's land is covered too.

The city manager or an authorized agent enforces it and may enter private or public property to look at a car or have it removed. When the owner cannot be found after a diligent search, the notice can simply be attached to the car, and that counts as service.

Two time limits sit in the section:

• 10 days to object. An owner who disagrees that the car is a nuisance can file a notice "with the city clerk within ten (10) days."
• Removal ends it. Taking the car away before the ten days run out "shall be considered compliance," and no further action is taken against the owner or the occupants.

Streets: 12 hours after a notice

Section 10.12.125 covers the public right-of-way. A car that stays on a street or highway for "twelve (12) hours and after notice has been posted on the vehicle" is deemed abandoned, and police or code enforcement may tow it. A car parked so that it creates a safety hazard can be towed at once.

Cars impounded by code enforcement are charged a daily storage fee on top of the tow. To get one back, you must show "satisfactory evidence of ownership" and pay every cost tied to the tow, including the city's own expenses. See towed or impounded.

A storage unit is not a workaround

Stockbridge allows self-storage facilities in the C-3, LI and HI zones, and its standards for their outdoor storage say "Abandoned, wrecked, or junked vehicles are prohibited." A rented outdoor storage space is not a place to park a junked car either.

Henry County tag office

Henry County's tag office at 140 Henry Parkway, McDonough, is the one we checked; call 770-288-8180. As the crow flies, it lies about 8 miles southeast of central Stockbridge. Henry may have other offices.

Georgia title and plate points

• The seller's section is on the reverse of the original title; every joint seller prints a name and signs.
• Plates remain yours. After that, use DRIVES e-Services or Form MV-18J to cancel the registration.
• Registration first, insurance second.
• A wrecked car may already count as salvage. Georgia's test is damage that would take two or more major component parts to restore, or an insurer's total-loss payout. When a vehicle becomes salvage or a total loss, its owner and insurer have to turn in the plates. See wrecked or totaled.
• Water or flood damage puts the brand "Flood Damaged" on a Georgia title.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008; tell us whether it runs, the model year, make and model, and which title you hold. Pull the plates when the truck arrives, so the car never sits plateless in the yard. Pickup works at a house, a shop or a parking lot. Nearby: McDonough, Stonecrest, Fayetteville and Georgia.