Selling a junk or dead car in Rochester

The three tests in Section 8-3-6

The ordinance applies to any vehicle on "an open space area of any premises located anywhere in the city." To stay there, the car must meet all three of these:

1. "The vehicle must have affixed to it a valid current motor vehicle license."
2. "The vehicle must not lack essential parts that would render it inoperable."
3. The car must not be rusted, wrecked, partly dismantled or junked.

If one fails, the owner of the car must remove it "to a duly licensed junkyard or other authorized place of deposit or storage within ten working days of a demand by the city." Should Rochester be unable to locate that owner, the landowner picks up the same duty on the same ten-working-day clock. That matters for landlords whose tenant moved out and left a car behind.

Why the city treats old cars as a danger

Two nearby sections explain the thinking. Section 8-3-5 declares "the unsheltered storage of old, unused, stripped or junked automobiles not in good and safe operating condition" a nuisance. Section 8-3-4 says such storage tends to "invite plundering, create fire hazards" and hurt nearby property values.

There are three exceptions. It leaves out cars in an enclosed building, cars a lawful business needs on its grounds, and cars in a city storage yard.

The housing code adds its own line

Section 7-4-16 of the housing code bans parking, keeping or storing "inoperative or unlicensed" vehicles on any premises, unless another rule allows it. It also says no vehicle may "at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled."

Work indoors is the way around it. Major overhaul and bodywork are allowed "inside a structure or similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes." If your plan was to strip the car in the driveway, read part it out or sell it whole first.

Street parking, towing and getting a car back

Section 11-6-42 says a car parked against the parking chapter "may be immediately removed and impounded," and the owner pays for it. Rolling a dead car a short way won't start the count over. Section 11-6-30 counts a car as re-parked if it is found on the same block, lot or ramp within four hours. Each time period it overstays is a separate violation.

Large commercial vehicles have their own cap. Under Section 11-6-23, those over 23 feet long or eight feet wide may not stay in a residential zone for more than four hours in a row. That covers a dead box truck parked out front.

To reclaim an impounded car, Section 11-4-4 sets reclaim hours of at least 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. You must "satisfactorily establish" ownership or a right to the car, then pay towing and storage. See towed or impounded if you would rather let it go.

The Olmsted County office

Rochester has a short trip for paperwork. We checked Olmsted County's office on 4th Street South East, number 151, phone 507-923-2020. Measured as the crow flies, it is roughly a mile east of central Rochester. Close to 200 deputy registrar counters across Minnesota can also do a transfer. Rochester owners can call 651-297-2005, or use drive.mn.gov to pick a nearby office.

Minnesota title and plate rules for Rochester sellers

• Signing. When you hand over the car, assign the title and record the real price, the date, and the mileage and damage disclosures. No notary step appears in what DVS tells Rochester sellers to do.
• Liens. A Rochester title that still names a lender needs that lender's release card, or a notary-signed lien release, with the papers.
• Plates. In Minnesota they belong with the car, so the Rochester buyer drives off with them and with the registration tax you prepaid.
• Notice of Sale. Within ten days, file it online or mail the stub torn off the title. Do this, and Statute 168A.10 says you are not liable as owner for what the car is part of later.

No title in hand? The person named as owner on the original files form PS2067A for a replacement. DVS charges $21.50 by mail, a deputy registrar adds $1, and many deputy registrars hand it over while you wait. Without any proof of ownership, statute 168A.1501 leaves two narrow doors. A licensed dealer can scrap-buy a Rochester car that's ten or more model years old and has gone over seven years without registration. A licensed used parts dealer can take one apart after holding it seven days. Each route requires ID and a signed statement, and the money comes only by check or electronic transfer. More at selling with no title.

Southeast Minnesota

Rochester covers 56.807 square miles and is home to 124,292 people. Our closest town pages are a fair drive: Austin is 34.3 miles away, Owatonna 37.8 and Winona 40.3. Faribault is 44.3. For the statewide rules, see Minnesota.

Getting an offer

For your Rochester car, call (877) 421-6008 or send us the form. Our truck can reach a rental's back lot, a side street, or the shop whose repair quote ran too high.