Selling a junk or dead car in Union City

Section 8-1: seven days after notice

The rule covers residential and commercial property alike. It lists "the open storage of any abandoned motor vehicle" next to old refrigerators, stoves and building rubbish. Once notice arrives, the owner or occupant must "remove the hazard within seven (7) days."

There is one way to slow that down. If this is your first such offense in twelve consecutive months, you may file a written appeal to the mayor and council. If nobody acts after notice, the clerk or inspector is to "cause the same to be removed by the use of city equipment and employees."

Licensed junk dealers under Section 9-25 and regulated disposal sites are exempt. A home driveway is not.

Streets, tows and the state clocks

Section 14-32 makes it unlawful "to park or leave standing any vehicle in any area designated as a no parking area." Those areas are marked with painted curbs and signs put up where the city council directs.

Georgia adds timelines of its own. State law calls a car abandoned after five days sitting unattended on public land with no sign its owner plans to come back, or after 30 days unattended on private land. A car left at a repair shop or wrecker service and not called for within 30 days is abandoned too, which matters if yours died at a shop and you never went back for it.

Once a car is towed, the tow and storage company must write to the owners within 15 calendar days. Union City owners are also told the tow firm can take its lien to court once ten calendar days go by. Union City police can also hold a car under Section 10-90 after an arrest for dumping egregious litter. The arrestee gets it back by showing a valid driver's license, "proof of ownership or lawful authority to operate the motor vehicle," and proof of insurance. Someone other than the arrestee has a separate path to release.

The Fulton County tag office

The Georgia Department of Revenue issues titles, but the paperwork goes through a County Tag Office. The Fulton County Tax Commissioner office serving Union City is at 141 Pryor Street SW in Atlanta. Its phone is 404-613-6100. As the crow flies, that is about 15 miles northeast of central Union City; Fulton may have other locations.

Signing over a Fulton County car

Selling in Georgia takes two steps: sign the title over, then cancel the registration. Turn the original title over and, in the Seller spot, print your name and sign. A joint owner prints and signs too. Record the mileage in whole miles, and do not erase anything, because alterations can void the title.

Next, end the registration. Fulton sellers can do that in DRIVES e-Services online, or with Form MV-18J at the counter, and should finish it before dropping insurance. A Union City seller removes the plate and holds on to it. Emissions testing applies in Fulton, one of 13 metro Atlanta counties on the state's list.

No title in the glovebox? A replacement costs $8.00 on Form MV-1; see selling with no title. Georgia has no title for a 1985 or older car. A bill of sale is all it takes.

Getting an offer

Ask online or call (877) 421-6008. Union City sellers can start on the offer form. Pickup works from a driveway near City Hall on Union Street or a lot in South Fulton, 3.1 miles off. For statewide rules, see Georgia.