Selling a dead or junk car in Battle Creek

The front-yard rule

The written exceptions go to recreational vehicles and trailers, not cars. Those may sit in a fully enclosed garage or accessory building, and in a front yard only to load, unload or clean, for no more than "seventy- two hours" at a time and no more than four times a calendar year, on an improved driveway. Lots whose shape or terrain leaves no other spot can use a driveway or parking area approved by the Planning and Zoning Administrator. The text gives an ordinary car no matching window.

Who answers for the violation matters. For a registered vehicle, proof that it was parked in violation plus proof that you were the registered owner creates "a presumption" against you. For other property, the owner of the premises or whoever controls it can be named. So a car you sold but never got out of your name, still sitting on your lawn, can land on you.

What we did not find

We did not find a Battle Creek section aimed at an inoperable car kept in a back yard or driveway at a home. The dismantled-car rules we found apply to businesses. Used car lots may not store dismantled vehicles or parts outside a permanently enclosed building, and repair shops must screen inoperable vehicles behind a fence or wall "of a minimum height of eight feet." The city may have other rules on junk cars at houses, so check with the city before relying on a car being allowed to stay.

State law fills part of the gap. In Michigan, a car counts as abandoned after 48 hours or more on public property, or any time on private land the owner didn't okay. Police may move a car from public or private land at the last titled owner's expense. Within 7 days the Secretary of State supplies the owner's details, and the notice warns that failing to redeem the car or request a hearing within 20 days can lead to its sale. Contesting it in court means posting a bond of $40.00 plus the towing and storage fees.

Snow emergencies

If the City Manager calls a snow emergency over falling snow, sleet, freezing rain or a weather service forecast, every car must be off all city streets. The ban runs until the City Manager announces its end. One detail helps: a block "cleared of snow and ice from curb to curb for the length of the entire block" drops out automatically. Under Section 430.08, a car parked against the parking chapter can be impounded under the Uniform Traffic Code. A dead car at the curb in January is the first one at risk. See towed or impounded if that already happened.

Selling the car: Calhoun County and the state title

Car titles aren't a Calhoun County job. Battle Creek titles come from Michigan's Department of State at Secretary of State branch offices. The buyer must get the original title, not a photocopy. Battle Creek sellers complete the odometer statement and seller's part first, then sign. Each owner listed has to sign. A notary does not appear anywhere in the state's seller instructions.

The record stays in your name until the buyer transfers it, so the state suggests going along to a branch office. Can't go to the branch with your buyer? Under MCL 257.240, a Battle Creek seller holds onto sale proof 18 months or more. A Battle Creek seller can copy both sides of the signed title, or keep a note of the price and date with the buyer's name, address and license number, signed by the buyer. Without it, a $15 civil infraction can apply, and towing and storage are presumed yours if the car is dumped. With the 20-day sale clock above, that copy is what shows a tow bill is not yours.

Pull your plate before the car leaves. Michigan plates belong to the seller, and yours can move to another car you own or buy. Leave it on and the buyer's parking tickets can follow you home.

No title, or headed for scrap

Replacing a lost title costs $15 by mail, about 14 days, or $20 for same-day service at a branch. Just one owner needs to apply. When the last owner is out of reach, a Battle Creek buyer may self-certify for a title on form TR-205, if the Michigan car is 10 or more years old and worth $2,500 or less. If there's no title from the seller and that form doesn't apply, the buyer must get a court order or a surety bond worth twice the car's fair market value. Read junk car with no title before you start.

A scrap certificate of title costs $15 to apply for. It lets the holder haul the car but not drive it, and a title is never issued for that car again.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the form with the car's details: model year, make, model, rough mileage, running or not, and title status. With the front lawn off limits, the car may already be tucked in a side driveway, a garage or a repair shop lot, and pickup can happen from any of them. Kalamazoo is 18.4 miles away and Portage 19.8 miles; both have their own pages. For the rest of the state, see Michigan.