Selling a dead or junk car in Salem

Salem's tow zones and time limits

Salem posts certain streets and lots as tow zones. A car parked against the rules there is removed under police direction, and the owner pays for "such removal and storage." The list covers stretches of Bridge Street, a cemetery-commission lot beside 5 Broad Street, and school-day zones near the Carlton School. On election days, some spaces allow only ten minutes.

Section 55A sets one-hour and two-hour limits on named blocks, such as parts of Cambridge Street and Boston Street, with a different window on Saturdays. A dead battery doesn't stop that clock.

On a tow Salem police order, state law caps a secure, fenced, lighted lot at $35 per 24-hour period for a passenger car, and the lot can hold a lien. Towed or impounded covers selling from there.

A broken work truck

Section 55B keeps commercial vehicles weighing "four (4) tons" or more off residential streets during evening and overnight hours. The ban also covers the curb in front of homes and apartments, municipal lots and the entrance corridor overlay district. Trucks loaded with debris fall under the same ban. Fines climb from $100 to $200 to $300, and after that the truck may be towed.

Private yards: what Salem's code didn't cover

None of the Salem sections in our research deal with a junk car stored on private land, so there may be Salem rules we haven't seen. State law reaches every lot. Under c. 90 s. 22C, a Salem street officer may dispose of a car "as refuse" if it sat more than 72 hours without the landowner's okay and is worth less than the tow.

Snow sets its own deadline. Section 38-13 gives owners six hours after the snow stops, or after the city's snow emergency lights go off, whichever is later, to clear the sidewalk. When both happen overnight, the deadline is noon.

Selling from Salem

Salem impounds a car with "five or more outstanding unpaid parking violations exceeding 21 days." Tickets or registration hold covers clearing old tickets.

On the title, record the odometer reading. After that, the Salem seller and buyer each sign the assignment, print a name and write the date. No notary shows up anywhere in the RMV's steps for a private sale. No price line on the title? The Salem sale price then gets written on a bill of sale. The buyer's licensed insurance agent stamps their application. Once you've signed and delivered, state law leaves later violations with the new owner.

The plates are yours. Cancel online and file the receipt, then destroy the plates by cutting them or send them to recycling. Cancelling also stops Salem's excise.

Getting an offer

Selling a car sitting in Salem? Call (877) 421-6008 or fill out the offer form. Unless impounded, Salem cars get picked up from the curb, driveway or garage. In a straight line, Marblehead sits 3.2 miles off and Beverly 4.8. Statewide rules: Massachusetts.