Selling a dead or junk car in Champlin

What Section 34-42 forbids

Champlin's code declares junk vehicles "a public nuisance affecting safety in the city" and backs that up with four rules:

• Champlin bars parking, keeping or storing a junk vehicle on a public street or on private land you own, occupy or control, "unless it shall be within a building."
• Motor vehicle parts, engines and related accessories must be kept inside a building too, whether the property is public or private.
• No servicing, repairs, parts swaps or maintenance on a junk vehicle outdoors, on the street or on private land.
• Open storage of junk vehicles on private property, and maintenance on them outside a building, is itself a public nuisance.

That closes the usual stall of fixing it in the driveway someday. The code also defines "street-operable condition" as a car that can start its engine and then "be driven legally on the public streets and highways of the state," so starting alone is not the test.

Abandoned after 48 hours

Section 34-40 lists what counts as evidence of abandonment:

• a motor vehicle stationary on a public street or public property "for a period of more than 48 hours";
• 48 hours, again, on private property that its controller did not agree to;
• a dismantled car, or one missing vital parts, on a public street or public property.

The police department may remove abandoned vehicles and impound them under the city's disposition sections. There is another street rule too. Champlin's Section 54-25 bans parking on any public street or right-of-way "between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m." It applies all year. A Champlin car that won't move from the curb is in violation each night.

A Hennepin County title office

For Champlin, the nearest confirmed county office sits in Minneapolis, MN 55487: 300 South 6th Street, Suite A-025, run by Hennepin County. Its phone is 612-348-8240. Point to point, it's about 15 miles southeast of Champlin's center. Hennepin may have more offices, and any Minnesota deputy registrar can do a Champlin transfer. Search drive.mn.gov or call 651-297-2005.

Minnesota paperwork for the seller

• Fill in the back of the title: price in the sales tax declaration area, date of sale, damage disclosure, and odometer disclosure on 2011 and newer models.
• DVS's seller steps list no notary. If a Champlin title lists a lien, attach the lender's release card or a release that has been notarized.
• Leave the plates. They go to the buyer with the paid registration tax.
• Mail the Notice of Sale or report it online before ten days are up.

Reporting the sale is not the same as moving ownership. If the ownership papers and fees do not arrive within 30 days, DVS suspends the registration. Lost the title? See selling with no title.

Getting an offer

In Champlin, call (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. Garages, side yards and driveways all work for pickup. Nearby: Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove. State rules: Minnesota.