Selling a dead or junk car in Hays

If you have a car like that, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US, from a Main Street alley to the edge of Ellis County.

What Hays counts as inoperable

Section 26-42 makes it unlawful for an owner, tenant or occupant to "park, store, or deposit" any "inoperable motor vehicle, including any wrecked, junked, dismantled vehicle." The one exception is a car "in a garage or other building."

Section 26-41 lists three conditions. Any one of them "shall raise the presumption" that a car is inoperable:

• no current, valid plate
• the car or its parts "upon jacks, blocks, chairs or other supports"
• one or more parts missing that the car needs to be driven legally

The code defines "dismantled" as stripping out a part that was "originally a part of any vehicle." So a car that is slowly being taken apart for parts counts too. Section 26-40 explains why the city cares: the city's governing body found that these cars on private land affect "the health, safety and general welfare" of residents.

Snow emergencies and overnight trucks

Under Section 62-151, the city manager can declare a winter storm traffic emergency. Once that happens, every vehicle on an emergency snow route "must be removed within two hours." Stranded or abandoned cars that block plowing "shall be removed immediately." Police may haul them to a garage or safe place, and they stay there until the owner settles the towing and storage bill.

Section 62-148 covers big vehicles at night. A truck over 225 inches long or 84 inches wide cannot park on a street for more than 30 minutes between midnight and 6 a.m.

Back fees on a car that sat

A car that sat for years often has expired registration. Kansas adds a $1 late penalty for every month, or fraction of one, that the registration fee sits unpaid. A car that stayed unregistered and never moved is treated differently: its owner may swear to that in an affidavit of nonoperation and nonuse, then owe just this year's fees, penalty-free. More in sitting for years.

Ellis County title and plates

Ellis County's treasurer runs the motor vehicle office that takes title papers for Hays cars. No Kansas safety or emissions test stands between a dead car and a sale. In Hays, the seller fills in the price, date of sale and miles on the back of the title, then prints and signs their name. Skip the notary.

Kansas law ends the registration the moment the car is sold, and pulling the plate is your job. It can go on another car for $1.50. Handing it in at the treasurer's office also clears your name from the record, so the TR-216 notice stays optional. Statewide rules live on our Kansas page.

Nearby

As the crow flies: Dodge City 86.2 miles, Salina 92.0, Hutchinson 95.1 and Garden City 103.8.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Hays? Ring (877) 421-6008 or use the form, and mention the plate. Even a car sitting on blocks behind a garage can be picked up.