Selling a dead or junk car in Garden City

Hidden, or abandoned in 48 hours

The same section sets the clock. A car like that "shall be deemed abandoned when it has remained parked or stored on public or private property for a period of 48 continuous hours or more." The chief of police may then have it towed.

There is a warning first. The officer leaves written notice at the home or sticks it on the car "at least 48 hours prior to removal." The notice gives "the date and time the vehicle may be taken into custody and stored at the owner's expense, or scrapped if the vehicle is not removed." That last word matters: the car may not come back.

Lots and repair shops

Moving the car off the driveway rarely helps:

• Parking lots. Under Section 154.066, required off-street parking lots can't be used for "storage of wrecked, unlicensed, junked, inoperable vehicles", nonresidential lots have a 48-hour limit, and leaving a car on private property without the owner's consent is unlawful.
• Repair and filling stations. Section 154.137 lets a shop keep wrecked or partly dismantled cars outside for no more than 48 hours, and only in the rear yard behind a masonry wall at least six feet high.

Three inches of snow

Section 71.05 puts a snow emergency into effect automatically on every city street once snow or ice reaches three inches. Signs posted at the entrances to the city also announce the restrictions. While the ban is on, "no person shall park, or allow to remain parked, any motor vehicle on any street to which it applies."

When the title is missing

Garden City sellers often hold an old car with paperwork gaps. Michigan issues titles through Secretary of State branch offices, not through Wayne County, and the fix depends on the gap:

• The car is yours but the title is gone. A new one costs $15 by mail in roughly 14 days, or $20 the same day. One owner appearing and signing is enough.
• You bought the car but the seller kept the title. For a Garden City buyer, Michigan wants a TR-205 self-certification, a court order, or a surety bond for twice the car's fair market value. Garden City owners can use TR-205 if four things fit. The car was bought in Michigan. It has no out-of-state title. It is 10 or more calendar years old. Its value is $2,500 or less.

See selling with no title and bonded title for more.

Signing it over

In Garden City, the seller and any co-owners fill in the odometer reading and seller's part, sign, and pass the original title to the buyer. The Department of State seller steps don't call for a notary. Pull the plate and save it for another car. Then a Garden City seller copies the signed title front and back and files it for at least 18 months.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or send the form. For a Garden City car, say which title case above fits you. Pickup works behind a fence, in a garage on a side street off Middlebelt, or over in Westland, 2.1 miles away. Inkster and Dearborn Heights are close, and Michigan has the state rules.