West Lafayette, Indiana: inoperable cars and how to sell one

Don't park it in a store lot with a sign

Selling it yourself? Section 38-255 bans overnight parking of a vehicle "displaying a 'for sale' sign" in an off-street lot in a commercial zone, unless the car is at a licensed motor vehicle dealer. The rule also counts "any other sign regardless of wording implying that the vehicle is for sale." The zones it lists run from NB and CB through the industrial I1, I2 and I3. If the car won't run, a sign in the window can't get it off that lot before morning.

Snow routes

Under Section 38-258, anything parked on an emergency snow route "shall be removed by the owner until the road has been cleared." The routes include Harrison Street/Williams Street, Waldron Street, and 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Streets between Russell Street and University Street. The owner of a vehicle left there "shall be fined, and it may be removed," and the owner of a towed one "shall be responsible for all costs of such removal."

Tows and storage charges

Under Section 38-36, police can take a car left on a bridge, viaduct or causeway, a car parked so illegally that it is "a definite hazard or obstruction," and a car in "other situations where impoundment is required or authorized or when impoundment appears to be advisable." That final part covers a lot.

Section 38-256 limits what a towing service may charge to hook up and tow, to "an amount established by the city." Towers must offer a way to collect a car outside normal hours and post that procedure outside their business. Storage is counted in days, and a "day" is "each twenty-four-hour period beginning at the time the vehicle is impounded."

Title office in Lafayette

We looked up the Tippecanoe County branch in Suite C1, 2200 Elmwood Ave, Lafayette. It's about 3 miles east of central West Lafayette in a straight line (888-692-6841).

Selling means filling in the title's seller block: every listed owner signs and prints, then the odometer statement, date, price and buyer go in. No notary is part of the BMV's steps for sellers, and a bill of sale doesn't need one. The buyer then has 45 days to put it in their name.

A lost title is replaced through State Form 205 for $15.00, with $25 added for speed. No title in West Lafayette? State Form 55018, the Certificate of Authority, costs $4.00 and lets the car go to scrap. Details are in junk car with no title. Parent on the title? Read car not in your name.

Plates

Take them off before the car goes. The BMV does not require sold plates back, and you can use them on another car you own. IDEM's emissions program skips Tippecanoe County; it runs only in Lake and Porter.

Nearby

Lafayette is 4.4 miles away, Kokomo 41.9 and Zionsville 44.5. Statewide rules are on the Indiana page.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or by the form. Around West Lafayette, our truck loads cars from apartment lots near campus, side-street garages, and shops that couldn't repair them. If a notice under Ordinance 2025-06 is already taped to the window, read notice to remove a car.