Norton Shores, Michigan: the 30-day test for an unused car

Junk, tarps and how notice arrives

Section 34-1 lists "dismantled, inoperable and unlicensed vehicles or their parts" as junk, alongside trailers "without properly inflated tires." It goes further than most codes: tarps "used to cover material or vehicles that are torn, ripped, contain holes" are junk as well. Throwing a torn cover on a dead car won't hide it. It just gives the city one more thing to cite.

The same section describes the notice. It is written, and it can come "by first class mailing, by posting or tacking on the front door of the structure or by attaching to the item." The first warning may be taped to the car itself.

Vehicles with an ORV sticker get a narrow allowance. The sticker exempts a stored vehicle only when it is used purely for recreation and trailered elsewhere. Even then it must be "stored out of sight of adjoining premises" or sit under a tarp in the side or rear yard.

The sections quoted here set no deadline after notice. The city may set one elsewhere in its code.

Garages and repair shops have limits too

If the car is parked at a garage while you decide, Section 48-1142 governs that lot. Body shops and commercial garages must keep inoperative vehicles "within an enclosed building" or behind "an opaque fence not less than six feet in height," never visible from the road. Each storage space needs 300 square feet of site area. Outdoor room for dead cars at a shop is limited by rule.

Impound

Under Section 22-239, the district court may impound a habitual traffic offender's vehicle "for any number of days, up to 90 days." On its own track, Michigan law lets police tow a car for safekeeping and charge the last titled owner (MCL 257.252d), such as when the car blocks a landowner from using their property.

Title and plates from Norton Shores

Michigan issues titles at Department of State (SOS) branches, not through Muskegon County. You hand the buyer the original title, note the odometer reading, complete your portion and sign; so does any other owner shown. The SOS seller steps say nothing about a notary.

Suppose you bought the car, never got the seller's title, and the earlier owner cannot be found. From there a Norton Shores buyer can get a title by court order, by a surety bond at double the car's fair market value, or by self-certifying on Form TR-205. Norton Shores owners can use that form for a Michigan purchase only. Age: 10 or more calendar years. Value: $2,500 at most. See car not in your name.

The plate leaves with you, ready for your next vehicle. MCL 257.240 protects a Norton Shores seller who visits a branch side by side with the buyer. Norton Shores sellers can also protect themselves by keeping proof for 18 months. A photocopy of the reassigned title works. So does a Norton Shores paper signed by the buyer that shows when it sold, the price, who bought it, their address and their driver's license number.

Getting an offer

Fill in the form or call (877) 421-6008. Name the model, read off the odometer, say if it starts, and explain the title. Our pickup can come to a side yard, a lakeshore-area driveway, or the back lot of a shop. Muskegon is 4.1 miles away; Michigan covers the statewide rules.