Selling a dead or junk car in Lakeville

Four ways into Lakeville's junk definition

Section 11-2-3 casts a wide net. A vehicle qualifies if it is "not in a condition for legal operation upon public streets or is partially dismantled." It also qualifies if it serves "as a source of repair or replacement parts for other vehicles," or is "kept for scrapping, dismantling or salvage of any kind." The fourth door is the licensing clause above.

Section 4-1-6 attaches the consequence. Keeping one is "a nuisance subject to administrative, civil, and/or criminal enforcement actions by the City."

The driveway gets its own sentence. Section 11-19-7 reserves residential parking "solely for the parking of licensed and operable vehicles." Outdoor wrenching is held to "temporary (not exceeding 8 hours) minor repairs" on a resident's own car. Pulling a transmission on the driveway over a long weekend does not fit.

Lakeville curbs and winter nights

Rolling the car to the street just starts another clock. Section 6-1-1-3 says no owner shall let a vehicle "stand on any city street or alley or city owned parking lot for more than forty eight (48) hours."

From November 1 through April 1, Lakeville streets are closed to parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. That ban also kicks in whenever the weather service predicts two inches of snow or more, and it lasts until plows have been through.

When police haul away a junk or abandoned car, Minnesota law sets the timeline. The registered owner hears about it in writing within five days, weekends and holidays excluded. A Lakeville owner has 15 or 45 days from notice, depending on vehicle type, to pay the tow and storage and reclaim it.

Title offices on our list

We checked two. Hennepin County's downtown Minneapolis office also serves Lakeville sellers. It sits in Suite A-025 of 300 South 6th Street, and the number is 612-348-8240. It lies roughly 21 miles north of central Lakeville in a straight line. Olmsted County's Rochester office (151 4th St. SE, 507-923-2020) sits about 60 miles southeast. Deputy registrar offices, nearly 200 statewide, also do transfers.

Signing over a Minnesota title

Flip the title. In Lakeville, the seller fills the sales tax declaration box with what the buyer paid, then adds the sale date. Next comes the damage disclosure, required on every car, plus the odometer reading on a 2011 or newer model. Sign and print your name where the seller section asks. DVS lists no notary step.

Plates surprise people here. They stay bolted on and become the buyer's, along with whatever registration tax you already paid.

The Notice of Sale protects a Lakeville seller. Within ten days, tear it off the Lakeville title and mail it in, or report the sale online. Do that and you are shielded if the next driver causes damage. After you sell covers it. If the car sat so long the title went missing, start with car sitting for years.

Getting an offer

Selling a Lakeville car? Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. We collect it where it sits, near City Hall or in Farmington. Statewide rules live on the Minnesota page.