Selling a dead or junk car in Niles

No license plate means inoperable

Niles defines an inoperable vehicle broadly in Section 34-111: one "incapable of performing the function for which it was manufactured because of damage, missing or malfunctioning parts or equipment, or for any other reason." Junk and scrap vehicles are included by name. Then comes the line that catches running cars: "A vehicle which is not licensed for use upon the highways of this state shall be deemed an inoperable vehicle."

The only carve-out is a historic motor vehicle that is registered and certified as one under the Michigan Vehicle Code. The word vehicle reaches further than cars, too: trucks, motor homes, motorcycles, snowmobiles and dune buggies all count.

One per property

Section 18-66 adds a cap that many towns don't have: "no more than one inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises." No car may be "in the process of being stripped or dismantled" outside, either. Big repair jobs, body work too, must be done in a building designed and approved for that work. If a second project car has joined the first, one of them is over the limit. Several junk cars covers selling more than one at once.

What the notice must tell you

A code enforcement officer who finds an abandoned or inoperable car on private property issues a notice of violation. Under Section 34-116 it has to state:

• that the car must be removed, enclosed or covered "before the expiration of seven days of the date of issuance of the notice"
• that failing to comply "shall constitute a municipal civil infraction," and Niles can tow the car off, dispose of it, and bill the owner
• that you may appeal to the city council in writing, delivered to the officer who issued the notice, before those seven days run out

An abandoned vehicle in Niles is one that looks abandoned and stays put "for a period of 48 hours" after an officer gives notice.

If the seven days pass

Under Section 34-117, city police may take an abandoned or inoperable car into custody and get rid of it under the Michigan Vehicle Code. Any costs still unpaid in Niles become "a civil claim in favor of the city." State law gives the Secretary of State 7 days to release the owner's details, and the notice warns of a sale after 20 days pass without a redemption or a hearing request. A Niles owner contests it with a court petition within 20 days and a $40.00 bond plus the towing and storage owed to date. Section 34-118 also allows "immediate intervention" when a stored car creates an emergency.

Two counties, one state title office system

Niles straddles Berrien and Cass counties, but titles in Michigan come from the state Department of State's branch offices, not from either county. The buyer gets the original title. The seller completes the odometer statement and seller's section and signs, as do all other named owners. No notary appears in the seller steps.

The plate and your paper trail

Remove the plate when you sell. Leave the plate on in Niles and the buyer's parking tickets may land on you. It can go on a different car you own or buy. No release-of-liability form exists in Michigan, so in Niles there's no such paper to send in. MCL 257.240 gives a Niles seller two choices. Visit a branch together with the buyer, or hold onto sale records for 18 months. For a Niles seller, the simplest proof is copying both sides of the signed title.

A long way from the next town

Of the towns on this site, the closest are Portage at 42.0 miles in a straight line and Kalamazoo at 45.5 miles. Distance doesn't change pickup: the truck comes to Niles. Statewide rules are on the Michigan page.

How to get an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Use the form for your Niles car. The truck loads from under a yard cover, a garage, or a shop.