Monroe's inoperable-car clocks, and selling the car whole

What Monroe calls "inoperable"

Both sections use one definition: "a condition of being junked, wrecked, wholly or partially dismantled, or unable to perform the functions or purpose for which the vehicle was originally constructed." The last part is the wide one. A car that will not start fits it, even with every panel bolted on.

The rule is about where the car sits, not what it looks like. Keeping one outside is unlawful "unless it is enclosed in a garage or other building." A cover in the driveway does not make it a building.

The ten-day notice

Under Section 33-15, a complaint to the mayor, or the mayor learning of the car, starts the process. In Monroe, that notice is sent to the landowner where the car sits, not to the person who owns the car. That means a landlord may get the letter about a tenant's car. The notice tells them to comply "within ten (10) days from receipt of notice."

The city has two ways to deliver it:

• certified mail to the person on the last published tax roll of the parish tax collector, or
• posting it on the door, or "On the front of each inoperable vehicle two (2) times within a period of ten (10) working days."

A marshal attests to any posted notice. Ten days after the certified letter arrives, or ten days after the second posting, the city gains the right to come onto the lot and take the car away.

Section 24.5-71 runs a parallel track through the division of code enforcement. Its notice can go to "the person in possession of the vehicle" as well as the landowner. If the car's owner cannot be found and the landowner lives outside the parish, code enforcement can remove the car.

When the warning gets skipped

Most of the time, an abandoned or inoperable car gets a notice at least 48 hours before it is hauled off. Under Section 24.5-81, police or code enforcement can skip that notice if there is "a special need for prompt action." The section gives examples: a car blocking access to a home or business, one parked where it puts traffic at risk, and one causing damage to property.

Streets carry their own limits. Section 33-48 bars a parked vehicle from taking up 30 percent or more of a street's width longer than 30 minutes, loading and unloading aside. Where a construction crew has barricaded a street, Section 33-60 lets the crew call a local wrecker, and "the owner shall bear the expense of such removal including towing and storage charge."

Getting a towed car back

Section 33-86.3 has the Monroe Police Department send a certified letter, return receipt requested, "within one business day" of an impound. It lists the charges and the fine. Release takes two things: the towing and storage bill paid, and proof the car is yours. The alternative is to post an appearance bond "in the amount of one and one-quarter (1¼) times the amount of towing and storage charges," with surety approved by Monroe City Court.

A City Court judge will hear the matter if the owner asks. That request goes in writing "within five (5) days of receipt of notice." This section does not cover a car presumed abandoned under Section 24.5-72. Our towed or impounded guide covers selling one that is still in a lot.

Louisiana paperwork for a Monroe sale

Your title will not come from a Ouachita Parish office. Louisiana keeps titling at the state level, run by the OMV. You can deal with it at an OMV location, through a private Public Tag Agent, or by mailing papers to OMV headquarters. The Louisiana OMV has the details.

• Notary. Louisiana wants your signature on the title assignment witnessed by a notary.
• Price. Writing the sale price into the assignment saves a step. Without it, the buyer has to get a notarized bill of sale that shows the amount paid.
• Plate. You keep the plate. In Monroe you can turn the plate in at OMV, mail it back, cancel it on the OMV website, or move it to another car for a $3.00 license transfer fee. Handle the plate first and the insurance second.
• Notice. State law also expects written notice of the sale to the commissioner within fifteen days. The OMV takes this notice online, and filing it flags your record.

No title in the glovebox? Scrap buyers in Louisiana can take a junk car on a signed, dated statement that you own it. Once a Monroe buyer enters the VIN into the OMV auto hulk database, no state will ever title that car again. To replace a title, file DPSMV 1799 with its Duplicate Title Affidavit. The owner signs it in front of a notary. More in selling with no title.

Towns near Monroe

As the crow flies, Ruston is 32.5 miles away, Alexandria 87.8, Bossier City 91.9 and Shreveport 100. The Louisiana page collects the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Monroe? In Monroe, ring (877) 421-6008 or use the offer form. We load from curbs, lots, or the garage that couldn't fix it.