Selling a dead or junk car in Novi

Three people can be responsible

Novi spreads the duty around. Section 21-74 says it is "the responsibility of both the owner of any private premises and the person in control of such premises" to keep the property free of inoperable or dismantled vehicles. The car's owner is named too, for keeping it from being parked in violation. A tenant's dead car can draw in the landlord, the tenant, and whoever holds the title.

The 10-day notice

Under Section 21-76, once a notice of violation goes out, the property owner has 10 days "to either remedy the violation or provide the enforcing officer with the name and address of the person in immediate control of the premises." Naming the tenant does not end things. The section says the officer can still issue a violation to the owner of the premises, the person in control, or the owner of the car. In practice the remedy is screening the car completely or getting it off the property.

Off your own property

Away from your own land, MCL 257.252a takes over. Under it, a car counts as abandoned once it has been on public ground 48 hours, or right away if it is on another person's private property without their OK. That landowner can send it to a storage yard up to 15 miles away. After a Novi tow, the state names the owner within 7 days. In Novi, the notice says the car can be sold unless the owner gets it back or requests a hearing within 20 days. Getting a hearing takes a $40.00 bond along with the towing and storage. Towed or impounded explains the steps.

Michigan title and plate rules for a Novi seller

Michigan, not Oakland County, issues titles, at Secretary of State branch offices. In Novi, the seller hands the buyer the original title with the mileage filled in and the seller's portion completed, signed by every owner listed on it. Notarizing is not one of the SOS seller steps.

Novi sellers take the plate off at the sale and keep it for a future vehicle. Left on, it can send the buyer's parking tickets back to you. Photocopy both faces of the signed title and keep the copy for 18 months or more, or accompany the buyer to a branch. A replacement title costs $15 through the mail, which takes about two weeks, or $20 if you need it the same day.

A car that sat in floodwater is a separate case: Michigan must issue it a title with the Flood brand. See flood damage.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Send our form about your Novi car. The truck loads behind a Novi fence, from a garage or at the shop holding it. Nearby pages cover Farmington Hills and Livonia; state rules are on Michigan.