Selling a dead or junk car in Terre Haute

When Indiana treats a car as abandoned

State law gives two tests that matter on a Terre Haute block:

• On a street or other public property: a car that is inoperable or partly dismantled, including one with the engine, transmission or differential removed, qualifies once it is left there.
• On someone else's private land: any vehicle sitting there for over 48 hours without the landowner agreeing to it.

The bill follows the owner. Indiana makes the owner of an abandoned car responsible for it and liable for removal, storage and disposal, with storage charges capped at $2,000. If notice is mailed and neither the owner nor the lienholder shows up within 20 days, a mechanic's lien holder may put the car up at a public sale or auction. One small relief: if a tower or storer sells it, the previous owner no longer owes the storage fees.

Since no local code turned up, ask the City of Terre Haute about any limits on cars kept in a yard or driveway before you assume state law is the whole story.

A stranger's car on your lot

If someone else's car is parked on land you own, state law lets you ask an officer to remove it, or to tag it. When the owner has not moved it after 24 hours, you may have it towed. The car abandoned on your property guide walks through it.

The BMV branch on Professional Lane

Indiana titles are issued by the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles, not by Vigo County. We looked up the license branch at 2920 Professional Ln. It's about 2 miles south of central Terre Haute in a straight line. Call 888-692-6841. Vigo County may hold other offices too, and the BMV also does business at self-serve BMV Connect kiosks and Partial Service Provider counters.

A seller may never need to go at all. The buyer, not you, gets the new title, registration and plate, and has 45 days to apply before a penalty applies.

Signing over an Indiana title

• Each person listed as an owner prints and signs on the seller lines.
• Fill in the odometer statement with the miles, then add the date of sale, the price paid, and the buyer's name.
• The BMV's steps for sellers call for no notary, and a bill of sale doesn't need one either.
• Pull the plates. Terre Haute sellers don't return plates to the BMV. They can go on another vehicle you own.

Buyers are told by the BMV to confirm the seller and purchaser blocks are complete ahead of a branch trip, so leave nothing blank when the car rolls away. After you sell covers the rest.

No title in the glovebox

There are two ways forward. You can get a duplicate title for $15.00 on State Form 205 with a photo ID, either online at myBMV.com or in person. A speed title is $25 more. When the duplicate comes out, the old title no longer counts.

For a car headed to scrap, the BMV offers a Certificate of Authority instead. State Form 55018 costs $4.00 and handles a title that is missing, destroyed or faulty. After approval, a Terre Haute car can be scrapped for metal without a fresh title. Bring something showing the car is yours (a current registration works, as does an insurance settlement), plus the lender's release when a lien remains. You can let an automotive salvage recycler do the filing. More in junk car with no title.

Expired plates and the emissions question

Indiana only tests emissions in Lake and Porter, two counties up in the northwest corner. Vigo County is not part of it. So a dead car in Terre Haute has no emissions test standing between it and a sale.

Plates that lapsed during the months the car sat idle carry a flat $15 late-renewal penalty from the BMV, and it lists no back-year fees. There is no late fee when the renewal envelope is postmarked by the expiration date.

Other Indiana towns

Terre Haute is a long way from our other Indiana pages. As the crow flies, Bloomington is 50.0 miles off, Plainfield 55.7, Avon 56.1 and Brownsburg 58.6. For the statewide rules, see Indiana.

Getting an offer

Ready for a number? Terre Haute owners can ring (877) 421-6008 or send our quick form. Our truck goes to the car in Terre Haute, from south side driveways to Cherry Street curbs downtown to the repair bay where it died.