Selling an inoperable car in Mason City

We buy whole non-running and junk cars, so there is a simpler end to it. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US. Our nearest other Iowa page is Cedar Falls, 57.6 miles away, and that distance does not change anything for a pickup here.

Chapter 8-5, read closely

The car's owner is "prima facie responsible for the parking, dismantling, or storing of such vehicle or vehicle part upon public or private property". So is "Any owner, occupant or person in possession of real property within the City" where it sits. Renters count as occupants.

The time pressure comes from the last sentence. Once the notice period in Section 8-5-6 runs out, each day the car stays "shall be a new violation of this chapter." Read your notice for the exact number of days it gives.

Loose parts count too. The rule names vehicle parts alongside whole cars, so a stripped body and a pile of fenders are both covered.

Lots, streets and junk dealers

Section 9-7-2 bars leaving a vehicle on a public parking lot "for a period of time exceeding twenty four (24) hours" where no limit is posted. Break that and the code calls the car an obstruction and a nuisance, open to a ticket and removal. The fine schedule in 9-10-15 lists an entry for a "Vehicle not displaying current registration, or otherwise constituting an inoperable vehicle".

The street in front of a junk dealer is tighter still. Section 3-5-6 says used parts and "obsolete, unlicensed automobiles or trucks" may not sit on the public street outside a junk business "for a period longer than one (1) hour". Our guide to junkyards and scrap yards explains who takes what.

Cerro Gordo County paperwork

In Cerro Gordo County, the treasurer's office does titles and plates. For scrap, Iowa Code 321.52 gives the buyer 30 days to surrender the endorsed title and request a free junking certificate. A seller may request that certificate first and pass it across rather than the title.

Lost title? A replacement is $35.00, the treasurer makes you wait at least five days, and all owners must sign the application, whether the title says "and" or "or". See selling with no title. Take the plates off and keep them.

Getting an offer

Mason City sellers can call (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. We pick up from yards, farm lanes and shop bays. For the statewide rules, see Iowa.