Selling a junk or dead car in Holland

City rules we could not find

With no Holland ordinances online that we could find, this page sticks to state law. The state's abandoned-car statute deals with vehicles parked on other people's property without permission, or on public ground. A junker on your own lot is something cities and townships regulate themselves. The City of Holland could set its own limit on a dead car parked in a yard or driveway. Check with the city before one stays parked for long.

When the state's abandoned-car law applies

MCL 257.252a treats a Holland car as abandoned when it stays on someone else's land without the owner's permission, or on public ground for two days or longer. What follows:

• the landowner may phone a tow company, which has to store the car within 15 miles and alerts police before hooking it up
• police can also move it to safekeeping, with the bill going to the last titled owner, under MCL 257.252d, for example when it blocks someone's use of their own property
• after the tow, the Secretary of State gets 7 days to supply owner and lender details, and the notice sent says the car will be sold unless you redeem it or ask for a hearing within 20 days
• to contest it in Holland, file with the court within those 20 days, posting a $40.00 bond plus the tow and storage costs run up to that point
• a public sale may be held once 20 days pass from the hearing, or from the notice when nobody asks for one

Paperwork for a Michigan sale

For a Holland seller the work is light. Pass along the genuine title, not a copy. Complete the odometer reading and the seller's area, and get every listed owner's signature. Those signatures make up the whole SOS list; it names no notary.

In Holland, take your plate off at the sale so the buyer's tickets don't land on you. It stays yours for a future vehicle.

Since Michigan offers no release form, cover yourself another way. Go to a branch together with your Holland buyer. Holland sellers can instead keep proof for 18 months or longer. A photocopy of the title after signing works. A dated receipt showing the price, signed by the buyer and listing their name, address and license number, is fine too. After you sell covers the last steps.

Expired tabs on a parked car

A car that sat past its renewal date picks up no back years. You do pay an added $10 fee after expiration, and renewing expired plates costs the full fee, with no proration. Driving on expired registration can get you a ticket, which matters if you were planning to drive the car somewhere to sell it.

Towns nearby

Wyoming is 21.6 miles away in a straight line, Walker 23.5, Grand Rapids 26.1 and Kentwood 26.9. See Michigan for the state page.

Getting an offer

Describe the car online or at (877) 421-6008: model year, maker, model, miles, whether it starts and who holds the title. A Holland pickup can be from a driveway, a carport or a repair shop.