Selling a dead or junk car in Detroit

The property code: Section 8-15-110

Apart from zoning, the property maintenance code makes it "unlawful to keep, park, or store inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicles on any premises or property." That covers a car "in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled." The section leaves room for an individual to do mechanical work on one vehicle at the property. Painting a car is stricter: only inside an approved spray booth in an enclosed building, and only where zoning allows it.

Fixing it yourself: the 14-day limit

Detroit's rules on home repairs set four conditions for work done outside a fully enclosed structure:

1. Only in the rear yard.
2. Only from 8 in the morning to 8 at night.
3. The car may not look visibly dismantled, with parts separated from it, for more than 14 consecutive days.
4. An inoperable car may not be stored in a residential yard without the 30-day precinct sticker.

So a backyard engine swap that stalls for three weeks breaks the third rule even with a sticker in hand. Recreational vehicles have their own section: garage or rear yard, up to 24 hours in the driveway to load or unload, and current plates where the state requires them.

If the police impound it

Section 46-2-64 covers getting an impounded car back. To get a car out of a Detroit impound, show ID and proof you own it, sign a receipt, and pay the tow charge and an impoundment fee. For the first 24 hours the fee stays the same. Then storage is charged "for each additional day or fraction of a day." The impound fee is set by City Council resolution.

Detroit also has a way out for a car you do not want back. Under Section 46-1-73, a registered owner whose car was booted or impounded over parking debts can release it to the Parking Violations Bureau for "immediate sale," with the money going toward what is owed. You need:

• the current, original Michigan title and registration
• a sworn statement, on the bureau's form, that the title shows any liens correctly
• the bureau's release form

That route ends with the car sold at a public sale. Our towed or impounded guide compares it with redeeming the car.

Michigan title rules for a Wayne County car

Titles don't come from Wayne County. For a Detroit title, you go to a Secretary of State branch office, run by the Michigan Department of State. In Detroit, the seller writes the mileage and completes their section, signs, then gives the buyer the original title. A photocopy won't do. Everyone named as an owner signs. Nothing in the state's seller instructions calls for a notary.

Michigan keeps a Detroit seller on record as owner until the buyer transfers the title, so it suggests you go to a branch together. If not, MCL 257.240 has a Detroit seller keep sale proof 18 months or more. Detroit sellers keep one of two records. A two-sided photocopy of the signed title works. A Detroit buyer can also sign a dated receipt that shows the price plus their name, address and license number. Doing neither exposes a Detroit seller to a $15 civil infraction. The law also presumes they owe towing and storage should the car be abandoned. In a city that adds a storage charge for every day in the pound, that record protects you.

Pull the plate when the car leaves. A Detroit seller keeps the plate and can move it to another car they own or buy. Forget it on the car and the buyer's parking tickets may become your bill.

Michigan marks a wrecked late-model car salvage when repairs hit 75% to under 91% of its pre-damage value, and scrap at 91% or more. The only uses for a scrap car are parts or scrap metal. Cars hurt by flooding get a Flood brand. See salvage title and junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Detroit sellers can call (877) 421-6008 or start with the offer form. It can be picked up from a rear yard, an alley garage, or a side street. Hamtramck is 2.5 miles away, Dearborn 7.4 miles and Warren 8.6 miles, each with its own page. For statewide rules, see Michigan.