Avon, Indiana: selling a car that no longer runs

When Indiana calls a car abandoned

Two state definitions do most of the work:

• On someone else's private land: more than 48 hours there without that landowner's OK.
• On public land: a car with no engine, transmission or differential, or one that is part way dismantled or doesn't run.

A dead car parked on someone else's lot or on the street is the case these cover. A car in your own garage is not.

If the car is on someone else's land

The landowner has options under state law. An officer can be called to haul it off, or to put a tag on it. Once 24 hours pass with the car still sitting there, the landowner may call a tow truck.

Who pays when it gets towed

Whoever owned the abandoned car answers for the tow, the lot fees and the disposal. Lot fees have a ceiling of $2,000. One break: once the towing or storage company sells it, the old owner is off the hook for storage.

A car held by a mechanic is different. The shop mails notice first; after 20 days of silence from the owner and any lender, it may auction the car or sell it publicly. See impounded car if yours is already at a lot.

The Brownsburg branch

The branch we checked for Hendricks County is in the next town over, at 860 E. Main St. in Brownsburg, about 5 miles north of the middle of Avon as the crow flies; its number is 888-692-6841. Since Hendricks County does not title cars, a kiosk or Partial Service Provider works as well.

Chances are you can skip the trip. Each owner on the title signs, prints, and records mileage, the day of the sale, the amount and the purchaser. The BMV seller steps list no notary. Within 45 days, the purchaser applies for a title in their own name.

A car going for scrap with no title can still go. A $4.00 Certificate of Authority (form 55018) covers scrap disposal, and a replacement title costs $15.00. Junk car with no title compares the two.

Plates and emissions

Plates come off and stay with you, ready for another vehicle in your name; returning them is not required. Emissions testing in Indiana stops at the Lake and Porter county lines, so nothing needs testing here.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or write to us online. Send the form for your Avon car. In Avon, our truck reaches cul-de-sac driveways, apartment complex lots and mechanic's bays. Nearby pages: Plainfield, Brownsburg and Zionsville. For the full state picture, see Indiana.