Selling a junk car in Shelbyville

The tests in Section 93.16

The city's list of what makes a vehicle abandoned includes:

• A car "three or more model years old and mechanically inoperable" that is "left on private property for more than 20 days."
• "A vehicle from which there has been removed the engine, transmission, or differential or that is otherwise partially dismantled or inoperable and left on public property."
• One hauled off by an authorized towing service at an officer's request, if it is "not claimed or redeemed by the owner or his or her agent within 20 days of its removal."

Two more lines are about where cars may be kept. The no-plates rule above applies to "automobiles or trailers of any kind or type" on residentially zoned land. And "demolition derby vehicles or vehicles that are not street legal" may not be parked or stored in city limits outside an enclosed building out of public view. The code makes an exception for cars built for private raceways.

When police move a car

Section 70.41 lets officers take a vehicle off a street or highway in set cases. These include a disabled car blocking traffic when the driver is hurt, and a car left illegally parked so that it is "a definite hazard or obstruction." When the registration papers in the car point to an owner, that person is to be told in writing "of the fact of the removal along with reasons therefor, and the place to which the vehicle has been removed."

There is also a 24-hour limit in a city parking garage under Schedule III. A car left longer "shall be towed at the owner's expense."

Indiana puts the tow, the lot time and the scrapping on the owner's tab. Storage cannot run past $2,000, and it is wiped out for the former owner if the lot sells the car.

Title office on IN-44

The BMV branch we checked for Shelby County is at 1826 IN-44, about 2 miles southeast of the center of Shelbyville as the crow flies; the line is 888-692-6841. Titles are a state job in Indiana, not a county one.

Every owner listed on a Shelbyville title prints a name and signs in the seller section. That section also takes the miles, the sale day, the price and the buyer. The BMV seller steps list no notary. Then the paperwork shifts to the buyer, who owes the BMV an application within 45 days.

Scrapping a Shelbyville car without a title? Use State Form 55018, the BMV's Certificate of Authority, which is $4.00. See junk car with no title.

Plates

The plates are yours. Unscrew them, hang onto them, or move them to a different car in your name; the state has no use for them back.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or reach us online. Our quick form covers the Shelbyville car you want gone. In Shelbyville we load cars from east side backyards, farm lanes past town, or whatever shop is holding them. Nearby: Franklin, Greenfield and Greenwood. State rules: Indiana.