Selling a junk or dead car in Oakdale

Three clocks in one city code

Oakdale's code sets more than one time limit, and they overlap. Which one reaches you first depends on the car and on where it is parked.

• 72 hours, Section 12-48. Any junk or abandoned vehicle, or parts from one, kept on private property outside an enclosed building.
• 7 days, Section 25-04-207. Passenger cars and trucks "in an inoperative state" may not be parked outdoors in Residential Districts past seven days. The code calls a car inoperative if it is "incapable of movement under their own power," and also covers vehicles "incapable of legal operation on a public street." So a car can start and still count if it is not legal to drive.
• 14 days, Section 13-02. The city's nuisance list names vehicles that are "abandoned, inoperative or left in a state of disrepair" and parked in a residential district longer than 14 days. Allowing a public nuisance on your premises is a misdemeanor under that section.

The same zoning section says unlicensed vehicles and junk vehicles belong inside structures unless the article specifically allows otherwise.

Winter on Oakdale streets

Rolling a dead Oakdale car onto the street doesn't get around the yard rules, and winter makes it worse. Section 12-11 bans parking on every city street between 12:00 AM and 5:00 AM from the first day of November to the first day of April. Once 2 inches of snow have fallen, no vehicle may stay on any street or alley until plowing is finished. An officer who finds a car in the way first tries to reach the owner, and if the owner cannot be found or does not move it at once, the car can be towed.

The Mayor or City Council can also declare a state of emergency for bad weather and ban street parking for 72 hours, or until a street is cleaned "from curb to curb" (Section 12-17).

If the police tow it

Section 12-12 calls a car parked against the parking chapter or state law a nuisance that may be towed by a commercial service, to a private storage lot or a city pound. You get it back by showing "proper identification to the Police Department" and paying the towing and storage fees.

State law sets a schedule for junk and abandoned cars. The registered owner gets written notice within five days of the taking, leaving out weekends and holidays. An Oakdale car can go to sale or scrap after 15 days from the notice. Our towed or impounded guide covers what you can still do.

Title and plates in Minnesota

Close to 200 deputy registrar offices in Minnesota do transfers. For offices near Oakdale, phone 651-297-2005 or check drive.mn.gov. Titles come from the state, not the county.

Turn the title over. Oakdale sellers fill the sales tax declaration spot on the title with the price, then note the sale date and the damage disclosure. On a 2011 or newer car, fill in the odometer disclosure too. Your signature needs no notary under the Driver and Vehicle Services seller steps. In Oakdale, a lien release card or notarized release matters only if a lien appears on the title.

Leave the plates on. The buyer gets them, and the paid registration tax too. Next, tear off the title's Notice of Sale and mail it, or file the sale online, no later than ten days out. Once filed, you are not liable as owner for the way the car gets driven after it leaves you. No title? Start with selling with no title.

Getting an offer

Reach us online or at (877) 421-6008. For an Oakdale car, the offer form takes about a minute. We offer free pickup anywhere in the US, so we can load it from an Oakdale driveway, a garage, or the shop where it died. Nearby pages: Maplewood, Woodbury and White Bear Lake. Statewide rules are on Minnesota.