Fort Wayne: selling a car that's dead or junk

What the code says about a car that won't run

Those two sections cover buildings, weeds and sheds as well as cars, and the vehicle sentence reaches past storage. It adds that "no vehicle shall at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled." Pulling an engine in the driveway to sell the parts is exactly what that clause names. A car that does run has a rule too: "All operable vehicles must be parked on an approved surface."

Section 90.02 adds a test based on how the car looks. It is unlawful to keep a vehicle that is "partially dismantled; non-operating; wrecked or junked; without a license plate or an invalid plate" anywhere in the city "for such time and under circumstance which would reasonably make such vehicle appear to have been abandoned." Once a car has been "proven operable and not abandoned," the officer does not have to answer every repeat complaint about it. A car that starts and wears a valid plate is in a very different spot from one that just sits.

Grass, back yards and the street

Section 72.23 governs residential districts. Running cars and pickups up to one ton belong in the driveway or on an approved surface tied to it. "The parking, storage or display of motor vehicles on grass or other similar areas that do not have an approved parking surface shall not be permitted on any property." The code reads "yard" broadly: back yard, side yard, parkways and the curb overlap all count. Inoperable automobiles, vans and pickups appear on the list of vehicles not permitted in residential districts, and the section bars them from the driveway, alley or yard.

On the street, Section 72.80 lets any police officer remove a car parked in violation and have it impounded on city property or at a contracted garage. It comes back only under Section 70.30.

Snow adds one more rule. The mayor starts a snow emergency by executive order when "the circumstances warrant." While it lasts, Section 72.79 makes it unlawful for any vehicle to be "stopped, standing or parked" on the streets in Schedule 18, which the Traffic Engineer keeps on file. A dead car at the curb of a listed street has no way to move.

Where impounded cars end up

Under Section 90.04, the Division of Community and Economic Development sets the times and places to sell or dispose of impounded vehicles. The money goes to the Abandoned Vehicle Fund, "a revolving fund dedicated to the enforcement of the Abandoned Vehicle Act."

State law follows the owner as well. Indiana Code makes the owner of an abandoned vehicle liable for its removal, storage and disposal, with storage capped at $2,000. If a tower or storage yard sells the car, the former owner does not owe the storage fees. Park a car on somebody else's lot without permission and, after 48 hours, the same code treats it as abandoned.

Title and plates at the Coldwater Road branch

Indiana titles come from the state BMV, not from Allen County. We checked a branch at 10204 Coldwater Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46825 (888-692-6841), about 6 miles straight north of downtown. BMV Connect kiosks and Partial Service Providers also handle title work.

When you sell in Fort Wayne, every owner on the title signs and prints under the seller heading. The seller then fills in the mileage, the sale date, the price and the buyer's name. The BMV lists no notary step. Pull the plates before pickup. Fort Wayne sellers keep their plates, since the BMV won't take them, and can move them to another car. From there the paperwork is the buyer's: new title, registration and plate, applied for inside 45 days.

If the title is lost or damaged, there are two routes. A duplicate costs $15.00, plus $25 for a speed title, and it voids the old title. In Fort Wayne, the BMV's State Form 55018, a $4.00 Certificate of Authority, also lets you scrap a car with no new title. More on that in junk car with no title. Indiana runs emissions tests only in Lake and Porter counties, so cars in Allen County aren't tested.

Towns nearby

By straight-line distance, Marion is 46.0 miles from Fort Wayne, Goshen 49.0, Elkhart 59.6 and Muncie 62.9. Statewide rules are on the Indiana page.

Getting an offer

Selling a Fort Wayne car? Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the offer form. We haul it from an alley parking pad, a back driveway or a repair shop's lot. After you sell covers the plates and the last steps.