Selling a junk or unplated car in New Hope

The driveway is for working, plated cars

Section 4-3 also says parking spaces at a home are "utilized solely for the parking of licensed and operable passenger automobiles." Operable trucks under the code's weight cap and licensed recreational vehicles are also allowed. Required parking spaces in any district may not hold "commercial or inoperable vehicles." So a dead sedan with old tabs on the slab beside the garage breaks the rule twice.

Citation first, then the tow truck

New Hope uses administrative citations. Section 2-60 says police may remove and impound a vehicle "from private property" for a violation of the inoperable or unlicensed vehicle rule, or of the off-street parking rules. The order is set out in the code:

1. A citation is issued.
2. The owner can fix the problem or ask for a hearing.
3. If neither happens, "the police may proceed with impounding the vehicle."

A hearing officer can add a fine for each week a violation continues in some cases. Paying the tow bill does not cancel any fine.

Street rules in New Hope

The street is no fallback. Section 11-2 keeps every vehicle off New Hope streets, highways and alleys from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., and holds parking to ten hours in a row the rest of the day. Under Section 6-3, police may impound a car left on a street "for a continuous period of 48 hours or more."

Once two inches of snow have fallen, New Hope streets must stay empty of parked cars until the plows have been through. A car left in the way can be ticketed and towed. Section 6-3 has police notify the owner, and name the poundkeeper, "within 12 hours" of the tow. The car stays at the lot until towing and storage charges are paid.

Expired tabs and a New Hope sale

Minnesota tabs lapse when the month stamped on them ends, and DVS will still renew online for any lapse shorter than 10 months.

Your plates remain on the car when a New Hope buyer takes it. On the title, write down the price and sale date, then complete the mileage and damage statements. The Notice of Sale is yours to file inside ten days, as the mailed stub or online. From there the New Hope buyer takes over. The New Hope buyer then gets 20 calendar days to retitle the car under their own name. Statute 168A.10 says a late filing suspends the registration, and DVS charges a $2 late transfer penalty.

Filing in Hennepin County

New Hope is a Hennepin County city. New Hope's county office is about 7 miles southeast in a straight line, in Minneapolis. Find it in Suite A-025 of the 300 South 6th Street building, or call 612-348-8240. Close to 200 deputy registrar offices around Minnesota also do transfers. To find one near New Hope, search drive.mn.gov or phone the state at 651-297-2005.

Around New Hope

Crystal is 1.3 miles away, Golden Valley 3.4, Plymouth 3.8 and Brooklyn Center 4.0. The Minnesota page covers state rules. If police already have the car, read towed or impounded.

Getting an offer

Selling a dead car in New Hope? For a New Hope offer, call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. A New Hope car can be picked up from a garage stall on 46th Avenue North, a snowy curb, or the city's impound lot.