Junk cars in Ottumwa: notices, the 21-day clock and selling

We buy whole non-running and junk cars, which is one way to beat the notice. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

What Ottumwa calls a junk motor vehicle

Section 24½-2 declares that "the unlawful storage of a junk motor vehicle upon either public or private property within the corporate city limits" is a nuisance. A car qualifies with any one listed trait, and one listed trait is lacking "an operable engine, or two or more wheels or other parts which render said motor vehicle inoperable and unable to move under its own power."

For abandoned cars, the chapter points to Iowa Code 321.89 and says the state's procedures will be followed.

The notice and the 21-day clock

The notice tells the owner to remove the car or fix the violation. It warns that the city can remove the car "and impounded at the property owner's expense." It also warns that if the car is not redeemed "within 21 days after impoundment", and no hearing is requested, the car's owner, the property owner and any lienholder lose every claim to it.

Section 24½-6 bars anyone from interfering with the city entering private property to remove a junk car.

To get the car back under Section 24½-8, the owner pays an impoundment fee plus towing and storage and shows proof of ownership. After 21 days it "shall be deemed an abandoned vehicle." Our page on a notice to remove a car covers what to do while the clock runs.

The plate trap

Iowa sends the plates home with the seller. In Ottumwa, that means the car cannot go back to the curb. Section 23-198.1 bars parking a vehicle that must be registered on "any street, park road or publicly owned parking facility" without "a valid registration plate issued therefore for the current registration year." Once the plates are off, keep the car on private ground until the truck comes.

City lot permits do not help either. Section 23-264 says "Residential parking permits provide for unlimited parking for a vehicle that is not defined as a junk motor vehicle." Snow brings a third limit: once a snow emergency is in force, designated routes must be clear of parked cars.

Wapello County paperwork

Wapello County's treasurer is where Ottumwa titles go. A scrap buyer surrenders your endorsed title there within a month for a free junking certificate, unless you obtain one ahead of time and sign it over. Hold on to a receipt, a snapshot of the signed title, or a filed form 411107. After you sell has the rest.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, describe the car, the odometer, whether it runs, and your title. A side yard, a gravel drive or a shop works for pickup. Our nearest other Iowa pages are Coralville and Iowa City, about 63 miles away. For the statewide rules, see Iowa.