Selling a dead or junk car in Southgate

A car on the street: the 48-hour notice

Southgate runs abandoned cars through the Uniform Traffic Code, amended in section 410.04. Police fix a notice to the car first. "If the vehicle is not removed within 48 hours after the date the notice was affixed, the vehicle is deemed abandoned and the police agency may have the vehicle taken into custody."

The paperwork clock starts after the tow:

1. When nobody redeems the car within 10 days, Southgate police mail a removal notice to the registered owner and any lender.
2. If police told the owner about the tow and where the car went within 24 hours, they can wait up to 30 days to send that notice.
3. The notice carries a warning that failing "to redeem the vehicle or to request a hearing within 20 days after the date of the notice may result in the sale of the vehicle."

If the owner posted a towing and storage bond with the court and then does not pay the fees, the bond covers them.

Impounded after a conviction

Section 410.06 lets a court order a car impounded for 30 to 120 days after a conviction under 410.04, when the person convicted owns it outright. Removal and storage charges fall on the owner even if the car is never returned. If nobody redeems it within 30 days after the date set in the order, the car is treated as abandoned and goes through the process above. A car you no longer want to pay storage on is worth deciding about early; see towed or impounded.

Snow emergencies

Section 468.02 bans parking on any street with "appreciable snow accumulation" starting one hour after the city issues a snow emergency notice, until the emergency is lifted. The code defines that as enough snow that the Department of Public Service would normally need to clear it. Cars left out can be towed by a city-approved company, at the owner's expense.

What the city code does not say

The sections we read cover abandoned cars, impounds and snow parking. None of them sets a deadline for a junk car parked on its owner's own lot. The state rule on abandoned cars is about cars parked where the property owner never agreed. Junk cars on land you own are for local ordinances to deal with. So Southgate may have its own rule that is not quoted here. Ask the city before assuming you have time.

Title paperwork in Michigan

Titles are issued by the state through Secretary of State branch offices. Lost title? In Southgate, a replacement by mail is $15 and arrives in about 14 days. Same-day service is $20. For just a duplicate, a single owner can file without the others.

When you sell, the buyer gets your original title with the mileage entered on the odometer statement, and each owner on it signs. Those SOS seller steps list no notary at all. State law (MCL 257.233) has you remove the plates and keep them for another car, or hand them to a husband or wife, parent, brother or sister, or child taking over this one.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Southgate? Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. We pick up Southgate cars where they quit, even back lots. From Southgate, Wyandotte is 2.5 miles and Taylor 3.5; the Michigan page covers the rest.