Selling a dead or junk car in Bloomington

Renters: the rule with no number in it

The same section goes further than a dead engine. No vehicle may be kept at a rental unit "at any time" if it is "in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled." Every other Bloomington rule on this page sets a count of hours or days. This one sets none, so a car that quit in the lot of a rental house or apartment is already out of line with it.

Homeowners: a 20-day clock and a 30-day clock

Two different chapters of city code count days, and they do not measure the same thing.

• 20 days in view. Section 15.04.020 defines an abandoned vehicle to include one "three or more model years old and mechanically inoperable" that sits on private property "continuously in a location visible from public property for more than twenty days."
• 30 days without plates. The zoning code, Section 20.04.060, bars parking a vehicle "without current license plates or in an inoperable condition" for "periods in excess of thirty days." The exceptions are a car "completely enclosed within a building," one in an approved salvage or scrap yard, and properties where auto repair is allowed.

The first clock is about what the street can see. The second covers a car with lapsed plates even if it still starts. A closed garage answers both.

Tagged on a Bloomington street

Section 15.04.020 also treats a car as abandoned after it is "left on public property continuously without being moved for three days." So does one with the engine, transmission or differential pulled, or one "otherwise partially dismantled or inoperable and left on public property."

Section 15.52.040 lays out what follows. An officer or parking enforcement officer attaches a notice tag. If the car or parts are not removed "within the seventy-two hour period," the officer writes an abandoned vehicle report. When the officer judges the car to be worth less than seven hundred fifty dollars, it goes "immediately" to a storage yard. At that value or more, the officer first makes "a reasonable effort to ascertain the owner," and after seventy-two hours the car is towed to a storage area.

A car towed at police request for some other violation counts as abandoned if nobody claims it "within twenty days of its removal." Section 15.48.040 sends impounded cars to disposal under Chapter 15.52 and Indiana Code 9-22-1-5. Our towed or impounded guide covers what an owner can still do.

Downtown sweeping hours and snow signs

Inside the downtown blocks bounded by Seventh, Morton, Second and Washington streets, Section 15.32.050 bans on-street parking between half past three and half past six in the morning. The north and east sides are off limits on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the south and west sides on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. A car that cannot be moved will break that rule.

For snow plowing, street repair or cleaning, the coordinator of public works can restrict parking. The ban "shall not go into effect until twelve hours after signs have been posted," and police may tow cars left in violation under Chapter 15.48.

Title work at a BMV branch

Titles come from the state BMV, not Monroe County, through its branches, kiosks and partial-service partners. One branch we checked sits at 1531 South Curry Pike, about 3 miles west of central Bloomington as the crow flies. Its phone line is 888-692-6841.

The BMV tells all owners to "sign and print their names in the seller section" of the title, and the seller then fills in the odometer statement, date, price and purchaser lines. Nothing in those steps calls for a notary. Your buyer, not you, files for the new title, with 45 days before a penalty kicks in.

Title missing, ruined or wrong? For a $4.00 fee, the BMV's Certificate of Authority, State Form 55018, lets the car be scrapped with no fresh title. A replacement title runs $15.00, or $25 more for speed. See junk car with no title.

Plates, and no emissions test here

Unscrew the plates first; in Indiana they stay with the seller. No BMV rule says sold plates must go back, so a Bloomington owner can bolt them onto another car they own. IDEM's emissions testing reaches only Lake and Porter counties, which leaves Monroe County cars out of it. The rest of the checklist is in after you sell.

Towns nearby

Measured as the crow flies, Columbus is about 32 miles from Bloomington, Franklin about 34 and Seymour about 37. Statewide rules are on the Indiana page.

Getting an offer

Selling a Bloomington car? Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. We reach Bloomington rental lots near Kirkwood, downtown side streets and stalled garage bays.