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Town guide · Michigan

Pontiac junk cars: what Michigan law says

If a dead car gets towed in Pontiac, Michigan law starts a 20-day clock. Once the car is in custody, the state identifies its owner within 7 days, and the notice that follows says it can be sold if, in the next 20 days, nobody reclaims it or asks for a hearing. Pontiac's own junk-car ordinance did not turn up online, so everything here comes from state law, and Pontiac could have extra local rules. To keep a car out of that process, we buy whole non-running and junk cars: sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

Updated · 9 sources

Aerial view of downtown Pontiac, older brick high-rises beside a curved glass medical building, with green trees stretching beyond
Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Pontiac, the short version

Population
62,077 (Census estimate, July 2025)
County
Oakland
Land area
19.885 sq mi
City junk-car code
Not found online; state law below
Owner information after a tow
Within 7 days
Days to redeem or request a hearing
20
Hearing bond
$40.00 plus towing and storage
Plates
Seller keeps them

When a car counts as abandoned

Michigan's MCL 257.252a covers two cases. In Pontiac that means a car left on public property 48 hours or more, or one on private land the owner never okayed. A Pontiac property owner can have a local towing agency haul it to a lot within 15 miles, with police told before the tow. Police have a separate power under MCL 257.252d to move a car into safekeeping and charge the last titled owner.

A dead car on your own land is different. That is up to city ordinances under state law. We couldn't find Pontiac's online, so check with the city about your street.

The 20-day timeline, step by step

  1. The car is towed and taken into custody.
  2. Within 7 days, the Secretary of State provides the names of the owner and any secured party.
  3. Pontiac's notice starts a 20-day window. In it the owner can reclaim the car or request a hearing.
  4. A Pontiac owner who disputes it files a court petition inside those 20 days, posting a $40.00 bond and paying the towing and storage owed so far.
  5. A public sale by the police agency or the private lot's custodian follows at least 20 days after the hearing. With no hearing, the count starts at the notice.

Storage keeps running while you decide. Towed or impounded covers what to bring to the lot.

A car that was never signed over to you

Bought a car in Pontiac and never got a signed title? Michigan offers three fixes. A Pontiac owner can go one of three ways: have a court award ownership, post a surety bond worth double the car's fair market value, or use form TR-205 to self-certify. Pontiac owners with a missing prior owner may self-certify. Three things must be true: a Michigan purchase, 10 or more calendar years of age, and a value of $2,500 or under. Cars titled out of state, and nonresident buyers, don't qualify for TR-205. See car not in your name.

Signing over the title

Michigan's Secretary of State branches issue titles; Oakland County doesn't. Give the buyer the paper original, write in the odometer reading, complete the seller's lines and sign, with every listed owner doing the same. The SOS seller steps include no notary.

Keep the plate when you sell. It can go on another car of yours, or stay with the car if a close relative, meaning a spouse, parent, sibling or child, is the one receiving it. Pontiac sellers then hang on to their sale records for at least 18 months. A Pontiac seller keeps a copy of the signed-over title, or a note the buyer signs with the date, the price, and their name, address and license number. Skip that, and MCL 257.240 presumes you owe the towing and storage if the car ends up abandoned.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. Send the form for your Pontiac car and we'll handle the rest. Pickup can be downtown, from a Pontiac driveway, or at a repair shop. Nearby pages: Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Troy; state rules are on Michigan.

Questions people ask

Does Pontiac have its own junk-car rule?
We could not find Pontiac's code online. Michigan's statute covers public property and other people's land, and leaves cars on your own lot to local ordinance, so Pontiac could have extra rules.
My car was towed in Pontiac. How long before it can be sold?
Under MCL 257.252a, the notice you receive warns that the car may be sold if you do not redeem it or request a hearing within 20 days. A Pontiac sale waits 20 days. The clock starts at the hearing, or at the notice when nobody asked for one.
Can I get a title for an old car the last owner never signed over?
If the prior owner can't be reached, a Pontiac owner may use form TR-205 to self-certify, provided the car was bought in Michigan, is at least 10 calendar years old and is valued at $2,500 or under. Otherwise the Pontiac buyer needs a court order. A surety bond at twice the fair market value also works.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

  1. MCL 257.252a, Abandoned vehicles legislature.mi.gov
  2. MCL 257.252d, Police removal of vehicles legislature.mi.gov
  3. MCL 257.240, Seller's liability after transfer legislature.mi.gov
  4. MCL 257.233, Plates on transfer legislature.mi.gov
  5. Michigan Department of State: Form TR-205 michigan.gov
  6. Michigan Department of State: Vehicle ownership michigan.gov
  7. Michigan Department of State: Title FAQs michigan.gov
  8. U.S. Census Bureau city and town population estimates, 2020-2025 www2.census.gov
  9. U.S. Census Bureau 2025 Gazetteer (land area) www2.census.gov