Selling a dead car in Troy, Michigan

A car sitting on your own Troy property

MCL 257.252a leaves cars on an owner's own land to local rules. We couldn't find Troy's own rule online, so call the city before leaving a dead car for months in a side yard or driveway.

Left on a Troy street or someone else's lot

Two days, or 48 hours, on Troy public ground makes a car abandoned under MCL 257.252a. Private land without the landowner's agreement counts as well. A Troy business or homeowner stuck with someone else's dead car can phone a towing agency. The lot it goes to must be no more than 15 miles off, and the tow operator alerts police before hooking it up. Section 252d separately lets officers haul a car off any property into safekeeping and bill whoever last held the title, for example when it keeps a landowner from using their own lot.

After the tow, Troy owners face a short calendar. Within a week, 7 days, the state hands over the owner's identity. The notice then warns that 20 days of silence, with no redemption and no hearing request, can end in a sale. A Troy owner who wants to fight it files in court within those 20 days and posts $40.00 plus whatever towing and storage have built up. An unclaimed Troy car can go to public sale. Troy can't hold the sale for 20 days. For a Troy car, the count begins on the hearing date. If nobody asked for a hearing, it begins with the notice. Towed or impounded walks through getting one back.

Your liability after a Troy sale

Selling in Troy does not take your name off the state record that day; the buyer's transfer does. That gap is why the Secretary of State suggests sellers tag along to a branch. A seller who handed over the car with a properly signed title is covered by MCL 257.240 in two cases. One is visiting the branch with the buyer. The second is keeping Troy sale records at least 18 months. Proof means a copy of the title as reassigned, or a note carrying the buyer's name, address, driver license number, signature, sale price and date. Neither one in hand? That's a $15 civil infraction, and if the buyer later dumps the car, the law presumes the towing and storage bill is yours.

Signing the title and pulling the plate

Troy sits in Oakland County, but the county has no role in titles; Michigan's Secretary of State branches issue them. Give your buyer the actual paper title, with the mileage recorded in the odometer box and your seller's section done. If two people own the car, both sign. The SOS seller checklist has no notary in it. When one private seller and one private buyer both carry a Michigan license or state ID, the transfer can also be done online, with SOS taking as long as 3 days to approve it.

The plate leaves with you, ready for whatever you drive next, and the buyer has three days to get the car home without one. If the title is missing, see selling with no title, and for the steps after pickup, after you sell.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or use the online form: what the car is, its rough mileage, whether it runs, and what shape the title is in. Pickup can be on a side street off Big Beaver Road, in a Troy office lot, or out of your garage. Nearby pages cover Rochester Hills and Birmingham; state rules are on Michigan.