Tucker junk cars: open storage, impound and selling

What Section 28-263 asks of you

The section lists the inoperable car alongside household appliances, glass, building material and trash. Each owner, operator or occupant has "the duty and the responsibility" to clear those items off the premises. Where two or more owners or tenants share an open parking area, keeping it "free of garbage and trash" is their joint duty.

The text gives no grace period and no notice clock, so plan as if the car is already a violation once it stops running and sits outside.

Lots and parks

• Commercial lots. Under Section 46-1183, "Cars parked in a commercial parking lot must be operable; no junk vehicles will be permitted." Even a running car may stay 24 hours at most.
• City parks. Section 32-23 bans leaving a vehicle in a recreation facility or park while it is closed, and such a car "may be towed from the recreation facility at the owner's expense."

A tow yard is not a junkyard

Tucker's zoning definitions draw a line worth knowing. A tow service removes and stores cars for a time "but does not include disposal, permanent disassembly, salvage, or accessory storage of inoperable vehicles." A junkyard is the kind of lot used for "the parking, storage or disassembling of junk vehicles." In zoning terms, the lot holding a towed car is a waiting room, not a scrapyard.

Getting a car out of impound

Section 42-264 says the person claiming a car must show "evidence of identity and ownership or right of possession" to whoever runs the pound. A car held as evidence needs "prior permission of the law enforcement agency" first. You get a receipt when the car is released.

If you dispute the impound or storage fees, Section 42-265 lets the police department authorize release on protest under set terms. If you are later convicted of a traffic violation, the court adds the towing and storage fees that built up to your costs. Our towed or impounded guide walks through the next steps.

Title work in DeKalb County

In Georgia the Department of Revenue issues titles, and the county does the paperwork face to face. For Tucker, the DeKalb office we looked at is at 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur; its number is 404-298-4000. That puts it roughly 6 miles southwest of central Tucker, as the crow flies. DeKalb may have more offices.

Seller's side of the title: your printed name plus signature, and a second set from any co-owner. Mileage goes in whole numbers. Write the purchase date carefully, because changing it later risks a $10 penalty, and any erasure can void the whole document. Keep the plates. Next, use Form MV-18J or DRIVES e-Services to cancel the registration.

An older car has another path. Tucker owners may swap the title for an owner's affidavit once the car hits 12 model years. This rule only reaches a Tucker sale when the buyer is a salvage dealer, a metals recycler or a scrap processor. DeKalb also sits inside the 13-county metro emissions area, with the latest three model years left out. More in selling with no title.

Getting an offer

Reach us through the form or at (877) 421-6008. Send the offer form for your Tucker car. We reach Tucker driveways, apartment lots and repair shops. Nearby: Chamblee, Decatur, Brookhaven and the Georgia page.