Selling a junk or dead car in Dubuque

The residential storage rule, 16-14-5

Section 16-14-5 governs stored vehicles "within any R-1, R-2, R-2A, R-3, R-4, or OR residential district, or for property principally used as a residence." The second clause widens it: a house that is mainly a home falls under the rule even in another zone.

A car kept there as accessory parking must pass two tests:

• current state registration on display
• if it is inoperable, storage inside "a fully enclosed structure," which also applies to loose vehicle parts

The garage is your friend here. Section 16-2-3 says "A vehicle which is wholly or partially dismantled shall not be considered inoperable when said vehicle is inside a completely enclosed building." An unfinished engine swap behind a shut garage door is legal. Roll that same car onto the driveway and it is not.

Dead cars on Dubuque streets

Curbside storage falls under Section 10-1-11. The section says it exists to protect property values by "limiting the use of the public right-of-way for the storage of unused vehicles, inoperable vehicles, unused motor vehicles, and inoperable motor vehicles."

Three parts of it surprise people:

• Registration proves little. "Mere licensing of a vehicle" is no defense when other signs of an unused vehicle are present.
• Unhitched loads are banned. A trailer, a towed car, or anything else that "cannot move under its own power" may not be detached and left in the right-of-way. Loading and unloading gets up to four continuous hours.
• Second offenses skip a step. Should the same vehicle reappear unused or inoperable in the right-of-way within six months of a removal, the city manager may abate it "without first obtaining another judgment on another municipal infraction."

Section 6-4-3 also lists vehicle parts and junk "thrown, left or deposited" on a street, alley, or any lot, vacant or occupied, as public nuisances, unless a permitted junk or salvage yard stores them properly.

Unpaid tickets, towing and the parking ramps

Tickets that pile up on a sitting car can earn it a tow. Section 9-15-321.751 makes a vehicle with a set number of unpaid parking violations a public nuisance. The city manager may then pull it off city property, or off private property with the landowner's consent, "at the sole cost and expense of the vehicle owner." A car in a disabled space without the right permit can be towed separately under Section 9-14-321.706. Selling with fines attached is covered in tickets or registration hold.

Downtown ramps are no parking spot for a dead car either. Section 9-14-321.636 limits any single parking period to 24 hours. The city manager can authorize overnight storage for eight dollars per day, paid ahead, for no more than 120 hours (five days), and it must be booked in advance.

Dubuque County title and plates

Titles, junking certificates and plates come from the Dubuque County treasurer. The Iowa DOT sets the procedure.

Signing. Put your signature on the seller line, found on the title's back. Fill in who bought it, where that person lives, and when the sale took place. Let the buyer know which county last registered the car and the date that registration ends. Odometer statements apply to cars nine model years old or newer, and damage disclosures to cars seven or newer.

Scrap sale. Within 30 days, the buyer takes your endorsed title to a county treasurer to exchange it for a junking certificate. The county charges nothing for it.

No title. Replacements run $35.00, after a mandatory 5-day wait. Iowa Code 321.90 gives a second path: an owner with a lost or faulty title may ask the police authority to approve disposal to a demolisher. Junk car with no title compares the two.

Brands. Iowa issues a salvage title when fixing the car would cost over 70 percent of its fair market value, for cars worth $500 or more, and for weather damage such as flood. An out-of-state title noting flood, fire, vandalism or theft damage passes that note to the Iowa title. See flood damage.

Plates. Pull them before pickup. In Iowa, they go home with the seller.

Nearby pages

Dubuque stands apart from Iowa's other cities. Measured in a straight line, Clinton is 51.2 miles off, Marion 54.8 and Cedar Rapids 61.9. None of that changes the offer, since pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Dubuque? Phone (877) 421-6008 or fill in the offer form. Pickup is possible on a hillside street, in a downtown ramp, or from a closed garage. Iowa has the statewide rules.