Selling a dead or junk car in Zionsville

What counts as dead storage

The rule in Section 194.111 has two parts. The vehicle is "without plates" and it is "in an inoperable condition". Trailers count too: the text covers "automotive vehicles or trailers of any type". Outside residential districts the same vehicle "shall not be parked or stored in any district unless specifically authorized" by the zoning chapter.

The same section limits off-street parking spaces. They may not be used for "continuous storage of vehicles for more than 48 hours". A dead car parked on a lot does not get to stay there for weeks.

The housing code adds three more lines

Section 17.94.07 names junk vehicles three times:

• A tenant may not let junk vehicles pile up "in such a manner that may provide a rat harborage" around a home.
• The owner of a building with three or more units has the same duty for shared and public areas.
• Nobody may leave a junk vehicle on someone else's land "without the approval of the owner of the property."

If the car was towed

The zoning definitions in Section 194.024 cover a car towed at an officer's request that is "not claimed or redeemed by the owner or the owner's agent within 20 days after the vehicle's removal." State law bills an abandoned car's owner for towing it away, keeping it and getting rid of it, though the storage part tops out at $2,000. And should the lot sell it off, those storage charges stop being yours. Our impounded car guide walks through getting one back.

The title, and the Lebanon branch

Boone County has no title desk of its own; the state BMV issues every Indiana title. The branch we checked sits at 2222 N. Lebanon St. in Lebanon. Measured directly, it's roughly 10 miles northwest of downtown Zionsville. Its number is 888-692-6841.

Most sellers never need it. A Zionsville seller completes just the seller section on the title's back: print and sign, then fill in the buyer, price, sale date and mileage. The BMV's list has no notary stamp. Registration, plate and the new title are the buyer's errands, with a 45-day deadline.

Title lost? A duplicate costs $15.00 on State Form 205. For a car headed to scrap, the BMV's $4.00 Certificate of Authority, filed on State Form 55018, clears it for disposal without a new title. See junk car with no title.

Plates

Unbolt them first. Sold plates never have to go back to the BMV, and another car you own can carry them. After you sell has the rest.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or ask online. Zionsville pickups happen in garages off Main Street, office lots, and repair bays across Boone County. Close by are Carmel, Westfield and Brownsburg; for the state rules, see Indiana.