Selling a dead or junk car in Kokomo

How a car becomes abandoned under 73.01

Section 73.01 lists the tests. The ones a car owner is most likely to trip:

1. The 100-foot rule. "A vehicle left on public property for 72 hours without being moved at least 100 feet from the original parking spot." Rolling it a car length does not reset the clock.
2. Someone else's lot. A vehicle on private property "without the consent of the owner or persons in control of that property for more than 48 hours."
3. Stripped on public land. "A vehicle from which the engine, transmission, or differential has been removed or that is otherwise partially dismantled or inoperable and left on public property."
4. Left at the tow yard. A towed car "not claimed or redeemed by the owner or owner's agent within 20 days of the vehicle's removal."
5. Visible from the street. A car "at least three model years old," "mechanically inoperable," and "left on private property continuously in a location visible from public property for more than 20 days."

That last one is the test for most dead cars in Kokomo driveways. The section also says loose parts meeting any of the tests are treated the same way as an abandoned vehicle.

What the $500 line decides

Section 73.09 splits abandoned cars by the officer's view of their market value. The $500 works as a legal threshold only.

• Under $500: the officer may order the car scrapped right away. A report and photographs go to the Bureau.
• $500 or more: the officer must "make a reasonable effort to ascertain the person who owns the vehicle." Then, "after 72 hours, the officer shall require the vehicle to be towed to a storage area."

Either way, state law sends the owner the bill for hauling, holding and disposing of the car. Holding charges top out at $2,000, and they vanish for the old owner once a towing or storage company sells it. Section 73.11 sets up the city's abandoned vehicle fund under IC 9-22-1-30.

The solid waste rules go further

Chapter 99 is about junk in general, and it reaches cars that never get an abandoned tag. Section 99.32(I) bars keeping "abandoned vehicles, automobile parts, disassembled automobiles, automobiles without engines" on private property "unless properly approved." Section 99.31 defines junk to include parts pulled off a car, such as "engines, transmissions, drive trains, suspension, fenders, doors, hoods, wheels, windshields and tires."

Its own abandoned-vehicle definition is broader than Chapter 73's. Any mechanically inoperable vehicle "visible from the immediate vicinity of private residences or businesses for more than 20 days" qualifies. So a dead car seen only from a neighbor's yard still counts.

If the police tow it

Under Section 70.16, officers may move a car from a public street, sidewalk or city parking lot when it is disabled and blocking traffic, or illegally parked so it is a hazard. When police cannot identify or notify the owner, and three days go by without the car going home, a mailed written report goes to the State Bureau. When the owner asks for the car back, the department orders the garage to release it once the towing charges are paid. Our impounded car guide covers the next steps.

BMV branches we checked

Howard County does not issue titles; the state BMV does, at branches, self-serve kiosks and Partial Service Providers. Here are the branches we checked for Howard County, by straight-line distance from the middle of Kokomo, as the crow flies:

• 834 N. Miller Ave., Marion: about 24 miles east
• 2222 N. Lebanon St., Lebanon: about 33 miles southwest
• 271 Merchants Square Drive, Suite A-100, Carmel: about 35 miles south

All three use 888-692-6841. There may be others. Those distances are the reason it helps that a seller rarely needs a branch.

The paperwork that is yours to do

Your part fits on the title. In the seller area, every owner signs and prints. Then fill in the odometer statement, sale date, price and buyer. The BMV does not ask for a notary. The purchaser has 45 days to apply for title, registration and plate, after which an administrative penalty kicks in.

Can't find the title? State Form 205 gets a replacement for $15.00, and the old title is void from then on. If the car is going to scrap, you can skip a replacement. State Form 55018, a $4.00 Certificate of Authority, allows disposal with no new title. A salvage recycler may apply for you. Both routes are in junk car with no title.

Some damaged cars carry a brand. A salvage title is mandatory in Indiana for any car within seven model years of new that an insurance company paid out as economically impractical to fix, and for flood cars. See salvage title.

Plates and emissions

Keep the plates; unbolt them first. Indiana never asks for them back, and another car of yours may use them. No emissions test applies in Howard County, since the program runs only up in Lake and Porter counties.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Kokomo? Call (877) 421-6008 or use the offer form. In Kokomo we collect from driveways, back alleys or storage lots. Other pages nearby: Marion, Westfield, Noblesville and Carmel. For the whole state, see Indiana.