Selling a junk or dead car in Stonecrest

The 72-hour clock and the street

Section 18-15 reaches past the driveway in three ways:

• Public streets. "No person shall park any inoperable vehicle upon any public street, alley, or other public property." There is no 72-hour allowance here.
• The ground under it. After a conviction, a court may order the owner or occupant "to replace ground cover beneath the inoperable vehicle."
• The one exception. The rule does not apply where the zoning code lets junk vehicles be stored outside an enclosed building.

The same section reaches unlicensed or inoperable boats, campers, cargo trailers and ATVs on residential lots, which must also be kept inside an enclosed building.

When Stonecrest calls a car "junk"

The city's zoning chapter, Section 9.1.3, sets a two-part test: a junk vehicle is one "in such a state of disrepair as to be inoperable and does not bear a current license plate." A car that will not run and has an expired or missing plate meets both halves. The same section defines a junkyard as a lot "utilized for the parking, storage or disassembling of junk vehicles."

Section 18-21 adds a duty to clean up. It is "unlawful" for the owner, operator or occupant of a dwelling to use the property "for the open storage of any inoperable vehicle," and each of them must remove such items "upon notice from the city." Our notice to remove a car guide covers what to do when that letter arrives.

If it was towed or left somewhere

Georgia's motor vehicle manual says a Stonecrest car sitting unattended on private land for 30 days is abandoned. On public land the period is just five days, if nothing suggests the owner plans to return. Thirty days unclaimed at a repair shop, dealer or wrecker service has the same result. Once it tows a car, a tow and storage company gets 15 calendar days to reach each owner by certified mail or hand delivery. For a Stonecrest car, the company can seek court foreclosure of its lien ten calendar days after that letter, and the court may order a sale.

Stonecrest parks have their own rule. Under Section 19-45, a car left in a recreation facility after closing time "may be towed from the recreation facility at the owner's expense."

To get an impounded car back, Section 17-66 asks for "evidence of identity and ownership or right of possession," and a receipt is required for every release. A car held as evidence stays put until the law enforcement agency gives permission.

The DeKalb tag office and Georgia's paperwork

Georgia's Department of Revenue runs titles, but the counter work happens at a tag office in each county. The DeKalb office we checked for Stonecrest is at number 4380 on Memorial Drive in Decatur (404-298-4000). In a direct line it sits about 9 miles northwest of central Stonecrest.

The state treats a sale as two jobs. First, turn the Stonecrest title over. On a Stonecrest title, every listed owner prints and signs in the Seller area. Write the miles as a whole number and do not cross anything out. Edits can make the title void, and an edited purchase date can bring a $10 penalty. Job two is ending the registration, on DRIVES e-Services or in person with an MV-18J, ahead of any call to your insurer. A notice of pending suspension that arrives once the car is sold can be ignored.

Your plate does not leave with the car. Replacing a missing title runs $8.00 on an MV-1 application, after any lien is released. Cars built in 1985 or before carry no Georgia title at all, so a bill of sale stands in. Once a Stonecrest car is 12 model years old, salvage dealers and scrap processors may also buy it with an owner's affidavit. DeKalb is one of the 13 Atlanta area counties where Georgia requires emissions tests. To register in 2026, a Stonecrest gas car or light truck from model years 2002 through 2023 must pass an emissions test.

Getting an offer

Selling a Stonecrest car? Phone (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. We can load it from a Stonecrest driveway, a repair shop lot or a tow yard. Conyers (9.4 miles), Decatur (10.7) and Tucker (11.8) have their own pages, and the Georgia page holds the statewide rules.