Lafayette, Louisiana: dead and junk car rules

The state's rules for abandoned cars

• Who can take it. The state, a municipality or a parish authority "may take into custody any motor vehicle found abandoned on public or private property."
• 24 hours. A car still sitting after the windshield notice gets hauled off and disposed of by the city, the parish or a tow operator working for them, as the Louisiana Towing and Storage Act allows.
• Ten days, then three months. When a city or parish holds a car for illegal parking or abandonment, the owner gets a certified letter within ten days of seizure and another at three months. A car unclaimed for three months or more is considered abandoned to the city or parish.
• The sale. It is valued, advertised three times inside ten days, then auctioned to whoever bids most. The owner or lienholder has one year to claim the proceeds.

Room for local rules

State law says parishes and municipalities may "adopt local ordinances defining derelict or junk vehicles" and set their own steps for towing and selling them, without following the standard abandoned-vehicle sale. So Lafayette or Lafayette Parish could define a junk car more strictly than the state does, with different clocks. Ask the city before you rely on the state timeline. If a notice has already arrived, see notice to remove a car.

A lapsed tag on a parked car

A car that has sat for a while often has an expired registration. On a stop, an officer may impound the vehicle and require the driver to buy the license and register it at once, with a penalty of one quarter (25%) of the yearly license or registration price.

Lost title, salvage title, scrap

Louisiana gives three routes for a car with paperwork trouble:

• Duplicate. If the title is lost, mutilated or never arrived, the owner files the Vehicle Application, DPSMV 1799, with its Duplicate Title Affidavit, signed and notarized. The OMV fee schedule lists a $68.50 title fee and an $8.00 handling fee; the pages we read do not show a separate duplicate fee.
• Salvage. Louisiana calls a car a total loss once its damage equals at least 75% of what it is worth on the market. After the settlement, the title and a salvage title application go to the OMV within 30 days. A rebuilt car must pass a VIN inspection, and its title is marked RECONSTRUCTED.
• Scrap. A car sold for scrap needs no title; a signed ownership affidavit goes to the scrap processor or licensed dismantler instead.

More on each: junk car with no title and salvage title.

Selling with a title in hand

Lafayette Parish has no title desk. The Office of Motor Vehicles issues titles, whether you visit an OMV location, use a Public Tag Agent, or mail the forms. The seller signs the assignment before a notary. Keep your plate: cancel it before you cancel the insurance, or move it to another car. Then report the transfer to the OMV within fifteen days.

Nearby towns

Straight-line distances: New Iberia 18.6 miles, Baton Rouge 55.9, Zachary 60.4, St. George 60.8 and Lake Charles 70.6. Statewide rules: Louisiana.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Lafayette sellers only need to fill out the offer form to get going. Pickup can be at a downtown curb, your yard, or the roadside spot where it died.