Selling a dead or junk car in Austin

How Austin treats a car that won't run

Section 10.14 lists "dismantled vehicles, machinery and appliances or parts thereof and parts of vehicles" among the things that make up a public nuisance, and the code calls that a misdemeanor. A notice from the city has to spell out the fix and set a deadline "not exceeding ten days."

Section 10.33 gives the city a second route. "Upon ten days written notice" to the property owner, or after a placard goes on the car, the city may haul the vehicle away and bill the cost to the parcel as a special assessment. The section counts as outside storage any parking "in other than a fully enclosed storage structure."

Two more lines catch people. For a vacant house, Section 4.26 states the owner "shall keep the property free of unlicensed, inoperable, abandoned or junk vehicles." Section 10.07 also bans leaving a car on any land "without the consent of the person in control of the property."

When the city takes the car

Section 2.73 handles abandoned and junk vehicles. If the car is on private land, the city must finish its abatement steps first, and then it "may apply for an order from a court" before towing. After the tow, the owner or a lienholder can get the car back by paying all towing and storage charges "within 15 or 45 days, as applicable," counted from the city's notice. If the car is sold instead, the city repays its own towing, storage and notice costs out of the money first.

Snow adds its own deadline. Under Section 9.31 the City Engineer declares the emergency, with at least six hours between the first notice and the start. Parking on the listed streets is then banned from 1 a.m. until 8 a.m., and other streets switch by odd and even house numbers on alternating days. Police can impound a car left in breach of a parking rule under Section 9.34, and a car that does not start is the one that gets left.

Title offices and Minnesota paperwork

We checked two title offices for Austin sellers. Rochester's office, 151 4th Street South East (507-923-2020), lies roughly 35 miles northeast of downtown Austin on a direct line. Some 91 miles north of Austin is the Hennepin County office: 300 South 6th Street, Suite A-025, Minneapolis (612-348-8240). Minnesota also handles transfers at nearly 200 deputy registrar offices; drive.mn.gov or 651-297-2005 will list them. The title itself is issued by the state.

Keep the plates on your Austin car. They move to the buyer with the registration tax you already paid. On the back of the title, sign the assignment, write the sale price in the sales tax area, enter the date and complete the disclosures: damage for every car, and odometer for 2011 and newer models. Nothing in the DVS seller steps calls for a notary. Mail back the Notice of Sale within ten days or file it online; that is what shields you from liability for the car after it leaves.

Lost the title to a car that has sat for years? Without one, a licensed dealer may still buy a car of 10 or more model years as scrap, as long as you bring DVS printouts showing over seven years with no registration. Our no-title guide has the other routes.

Getting an offer

Austin sellers can reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the form. Our Austin pickup reaches garages, driveway edges and lots behind repair shops. Owatonna, 31.6 miles away, and Rochester, 34.3 miles away, have their own pages. For statewide rules, see Minnesota.