New Orleans junk cars: the notice, the pound and a whole-car sale

The 30-day private-property rule

The code calls the car an "unauthorized motor vehicle": one "not in compliance with state or city laws and regulations, inclusive of, but not limited to, junked or abandoned vehicles." Keeping one on private property is unlawful "for a period of more than 30 days after the receipt of a notice requiring such removal."

Here is how the notice works:

1. Someone tells the department of health or the department of public works, in writing, about the car.
2. They fix a written notice to the vehicle stating the violation and allowing 30 days for removal.
3. New Orleans mails a certified letter before towing, both to the car's owner of record and to the property owner listed on the city's tax assessment rolls.
4. "Failure to remove the unauthorized vehicle within 30 days of notice shall result in the vehicle being towed to an authorized auto pound."

Two places are exempt: a car "stored within an enclosed building," and one kept at a lawfully run business whose operation requires it.

A second rule sits in the city's property maintenance code. Section 26-164 says "no inoperative and/or unlicensed motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises." It also bars any vehicle in "a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled." A half-parted car in the yard breaks that rule whether or not anyone has posted a notice yet.

On the street

The city defines an "abandoned vehicle on the street" as one that stays unused or in the same spot "for a period of at least five days following the date when the notice as set forth in this chapter has been affixed thereto." That is five days, not thirty.

Pulling the plate does not help either. Section 154-866: "No person shall park or stop a motor vehicle upon any public street or place within the parish without such vehicle displaying a valid and current motor vehicle license plate." So once you take the plate off a dead car, it cannot stay at the curb.

State law runs faster still. An officer who finds an abandoned car sticks a notice on the windshield, and if the car is not gone in 24 hours, the city, the parish or a contracted tow company may haul it away and dispose of it.

If police impounded it

Under Section 154-776, police impound a car found "in unsafe operating condition." No towing fee is charged. Storage fees start "72 hours after the vehicle has been impounded." The car comes out only "on authority of a recognized mechanic that such vehicle will be placed in safe operating condition."

For a car removed as an abandoned nuisance, Section 66-110 lets the owner get it back "at any stage in the proceedings." Settle the towing fee and storage, or put up "a bond for double the amount of such fees and charges." If you would rather not put money into a car you plan to let go, read towed or impounded first.

Water and total losses

Louisiana has a separate paper trail for flooded cars. A "certificate of destruction" is issued for a water-damaged total loss after a declared disaster or emergency. A water-damaged vehicle is one whose power train, computer or electrical system flooding ruined. Outside a disaster, a Louisiana car becomes a total loss once its damage reaches 75% of market value or more. The insurer or owner then sends the title and a salvage title application to the OMV within 30 days. See flood damage.

Paperwork for an Orleans Parish seller

Orleans Parish has no title counter of its own. Every Louisiana title comes from the state OMV, whether you walk into one of its offices, use a private Public Tag Agent, or mail the papers to headquarters. The Louisiana OMV site is the starting point.

Your signature transferring the title must be notarized. For a New Orleans sale that records a lien, an authorized officer of a federally insured bank can act as witness. Write the sale price right on the assignment. If you don't, the buyer must get a notarized bill of sale or invoice that shows the amount paid. The plate does not ride along. Remove it, then turn it in, mail it, cancel it online, or carry it to your next vehicle ($3.00 to transfer). Only after the plate is canceled should the insurance end.

Scrap sales work without a title. The owner gives the processor or dismantler a dated, signed sworn statement of ownership. When that buyer enters the car in the OMV auto hulk system, its VIN is finished in every state.

Nearby

Straight-line distances from New Orleans: Slidell 18.6 miles, Kenner 19.4, Hammond 44.1, St. George 68.6. Statewide rules are on the Louisiana page.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or by form. New Orleans sellers can start with the offer form. Pickup works on a narrow city block, in a driveway, or behind the shop that has been holding it.