Selling a dead or junk car in Anderson

Two ways to be inoperable

The first test in Section 94.30 is mechanical: "A vehicle is mechanically inoperable if the motorized vehicle cannot be started and driven." The second is the plate-and-registration test above. Either one counts only for a car "not contained within a garage or other building."

Section 94.31 then makes it unlawful for the owner, contract purchaser, lessee or occupant of any premises in the city "to allow, suffer, or permit any abandoned vehicle, inoperable vehicle" there. The sections set no day count. Junkyards and licensed storage facilities in a properly zoned spot are exempt, and so are commercial garages and repair shops doing ordinary repairs.

Racers get one exception. A single race car may sit on a currently licensed trailer or flatbed truck, provided the load is "covered by an untattered, untorn tarp." Tools, car parts and tires stored outside are still not allowed.

Snow routes and impound

During a snow emergency, Section 71.54 tells owners to "remove their motor vehicles" from the designated snow routes, which are listed in Chapter 77, Traffic Schedule XII. Section 71.65 covers the stage when "Roads are totally snow/ice covered and drifted." Then, blocking or impeding emergency or street department vehicles is an infraction with a fine of $100 to $500, and the car can be towed "at the expense of the owner." A car that won't start is the one most likely to be left in the way.

Under Section 92.05, an officer can impound a car left as a public nuisance or an abandoned vehicle. It goes to a lot run by a contract towing service or one the police chief chooses. Getting it back takes a written release from the Police Department plus payment of the impound and storage fees, or a court order.

On top of the city's rules, the state makes whoever owns an abandoned car pay to remove, store and dispose of it, up to $2,000 for storage.

Title and plates

Anderson has a BMV branch we checked at 4330 S. Scatterfield Rd. In a straight line it sits about 2 miles southeast of the town center, and you can reach it at 888-692-6841. Indiana titles are state-issued.

Every owner signs and prints on the seller lines, then the seller fills in the mileage, sale date, price and purchaser. The BMV's seller steps include no notary. Unbolt the plates before the truck leaves. They stay with you, may go on another car you own, and do not go back to the BMV. Titling, registering and plating the car is the buyer's job, within 45 days.

Lost the title? You can order a $15.00 duplicate, or get a $4.00 Certificate of Authority (State Form 55018), which lets an owner scrap the car with no new title. Madison County has no emissions test; only Lake and Porter counties do.

Nearby

Noblesville is 17.1 miles from Anderson, Fishers 17.2, Muncie 17.3 and Greenfield 21.0. See the Indiana page for state rules.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Anderson? Phone (877) 421-6008 or use the online form. Our truck comes to it, outside your garage, at the curb or at a repair shop. If the plates lapsed long ago, see car sitting for years.