Monroe, Michigan: when a car stops running for five days

When the city removes it for you

Section 210-5 gives the Director of Public Services, acting at the City Manager's request, the power "to enter upon any premises in the City for the purpose of removing, destroying or disposing of any junk motor vehicle" when the property owner does not deal with it. In an emergency the city may act "without giving notice if the public health, safety or welfare requires immediate attention."

The bill is the cost of the work and then some. The Director of Finance adds "the ten-percent penalty which is provided for by the City Charter to cover the cost of supervision and billing expenses." So a city removal bills the owner for the work plus that 10 percent.

The rest of the blight list

Section 210-2 has three more lines that catch owners of a broken-down car:

1. Front and side yards. "Storage of trash, garbage, junk, waste materials and deteriorated furniture and appliances shall be prohibited on open front porches and in front and side yards." A rear yard can hold such things only briefly, "not for longer than seven continuous days," and only if the rest of the code is met.
2. The public strip next door. An owner or tenant "shall not utilize any adjoining public property for the disposal or storage of junk motor vehicles." Pushing the car off the lot onto city ground fixes nothing.
3. Parking itself. Parked cars must follow the city's zoning rules and Chapter 485, Parking Regulations.

Scrap dealers need a city license

Section 564-1 says no one may run a scrap processing business buying or selling scrap, a list that names "dismantled automobiles," without first getting a license from the city. Each vehicle used in that trade shows registration tags issued by the city. If a stranger offers to cart your car off for the metal, that is the rule they work under.

If the car sits on somebody else's ground

Monroe's blight code governs your own land. MCL 257.252a gives two ways a Monroe car becomes abandoned. One is a car sitting on Monroe public property for 48 hours or longer. The other is a car sitting on private land the owner never approved. In Monroe, that owner may call a tow company with a storage lot no more than 15 miles away, and the tow company tells police before it hauls the car. Police may also take a vehicle to safekeeping at the last titled owner's expense under MCL 257.252d.

From there the state's clock runs. The owner's details are looked up within 7 days. Monroe's notice warns that a sale is possible once 20 days pass with no redemption and no hearing request. In Monroe, a challenge takes a court petition inside those 20 days, plus a $40.00 bond and whatever towing and storage has built up so far. A public sale can happen once 20 days have passed since the hearing, or since the notice if no one requested a hearing.

That is the reason the sale record matters too. MCL 257.240 is strict here. If a Monroe seller skips the branch and keeps no papers, the law presumes they owe the towing and storage costs should the car later be found abandoned.

Michigan title and plates

Titles are a state matter, issued through Department of State (SOS) branch offices rather than by Monroe County. The seller passes the original title across, completes the mileage section and the seller's lines, and signs, joined by anyone else listed as an owner. The SOS seller steps include no notary.

You stay the owner on state records until the buyer does the transfer, so SOS advises the two of you visit the branch at once. A Monroe sale can move online if both people hold a Michigan driver's license or ID. Approval from SOS can take up to 3 days.

Take the plate off. In Monroe, the plate can stay with you for another vehicle. Michigan law also lets it pass to the Monroe owner's child, sibling, parent or spouse who takes the car. If you skip the branch in Monroe, save a photocopy of the signed-over title for 18 months, or a page the buyer signs listing their name, address, license number, the date and what they paid.

A Monroe owner pays $15 for a lost-title replacement by mail, or $20 to walk out with it the same visit. If you bought the car and never got the seller's title, Michigan wants one of three things from you: a judge's order naming you owner, a surety bond worth double what the car is worth on the market, or Form TR-205. Monroe owners qualify for that form only when the prior owner can't be reached. It also needs a Michigan purchase. Age: 10 or more years. Value: $2,500 or less. See junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Send the form about your Monroe car. Our truck comes to homes near downtown, side driveways, or a garage that can't fix it. Romulus is 21.2 miles away and Southgate 21.9. Statewide rules are on the Michigan page.