Selling a junk or dead car in Hastings

How an impound unfolds under state law

Hastings lies in both Dakota and Washington counties, and the state sequence is the same in either:

1. Peace officers and units of government have the power to take custody of junk or abandoned vehicles (168B.04).
2. The registered owner and any lienholders get written notice within five days, weekends and holidays excluded, sent by mail or printed in a newspaper if nobody knows the owner (168B.06).
3. Fifteen days after notice, a Hastings car may be sold or scrapped. A junk vehicle may be sold "even if it has a valid plate" (168B.051).
4. Paying the towing and storage gets it back for the owner or lienholder, who has 15 or 45 days from notice based on the vehicle type (168B.07).
5. An unclaimed vehicle may be disposed of or sold at auction (168B.08).

A Hastings car kept in a shut garage or storage building isn't abandoned under state law. Towed or impounded covers how to get ahead of step 3.

If the title is missing

Minnesota offers three routes, depending on the car:

• Seven-day hold. No proof of ownership? A Hastings owner can still sell to a used vehicle parts dealer with a license, as long as that dealer plans to take the car apart. A Hastings seller shows ID and agrees to a seven-day hold. In Hastings the seller adds a sworn statement, under penalty of perjury, that no lien sits on the car and it isn't stolen. Weekends and holidays do not count toward the seven days.
• Old and long unregistered. A titleless Hastings car of 10 or more model years may be scrapped through a licensed dealer. The DVS printouts have to prove the Hastings car sat unregistered for more than seven years.
• Bonded title. DVS can issue a bonded title for a Hastings car older than five years. In Hastings you start with a bond. Take the Hastings car's value and multiply it by one and a half to get the bond amount.

When a Hastings scrap car goes without a title, the buyer pays by check or electronic transfer to the person who showed ID. See selling with no title and bonded title.

Signing the title over

Hastings sellers holding a title turn it over, enter the price in the sales tax declaration space, and then fill in the sale date and disclosures. DVS's instructions for sellers include no notary step. A lien card or notarized release only matters for a Hastings title that shows a lien. Hastings sellers handle transfers at a deputy registrar office. drive.mn.gov lists them, and 651-297-2005 is the number.

The buyer keeps the plates and the registration tax already paid. Send back the Notice of Sale, or report online, inside ten days. From there, the Hastings buyer gets 20 calendar days to move the title into their name. Miss that and a $2 late transfer penalty applies.

Getting an offer

Hastings car owners can reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the offer form. Our free pickup anywhere in the US covers Hastings on both sides of the county line. Nearby: Cottage Grove, Rosemount and Inver Grove Heights. Statewide rules: Minnesota.