St. Paul: selling a car that no longer runs

Night routes, day routes

On a posted night plow route, nothing may be "stopped, parked, abandoned or left unattended" while the emergency lasts, and it lasts "ninety-six (96) hours from the date and time the emergency is declared to begin" unless the city ends it early. On day plow routes the ban starts at 8 a.m. the day after the emergency begins and runs until it ends. On either kind, parking comes back on a stretch as soon as it has been plowed to the curb.

A trailer gets its own limit under Section 157.11. An unhooked trailer may not stay on the same block for more than 48 hours, and an illegally parked one "may be cited and immediately towed."

At the impound lot, the car stays whole

St. Paul's impound rule has a detail worth knowing before you go to the lot. Section 162.09 says "neither the impound lot nor the owner shall be permitted to take or remove from the vehicle any part or parts or change or repair any part or parts." Once the car is impounded, nothing comes off it before release. The car is released to the owner or an agent once the impounding and storage fees are paid. If the bill outruns what the car means to you, our impound guide covers selling it from the lot.

A dead car on private property

The St. Paul code sections we found cover streets, trailers and impounds, not a junk car kept on a home lot. State law fills the gap: under 168B.011 a junk vehicle has to pass every part of a five-part test, from age (three years or more) and heavy damage to a missing current plate and a value no higher than scrap. An impounded junk car can be sold 15 days after the owner is notified, even with a valid plate. The city may have its own private-property rules too, so check with St. Paul before counting on time.

Title, plates and liability

We checked two title offices. About 8 miles west sits Hennepin County's office in Minneapolis, at Suite A-025 on 300 South 6th Street (612-348-8240), measured from downtown St. Paul as the crow flies. From St. Paul, the Rochester office sits about 72 miles southeast at 151 4th Street South East (507-923-2020). A deputy registrar can also record the transfer; the state has nearly 200, and drive.mn.gov shows where.

A St. Paul, you get ten days after the sale to finish the transfer on the title. Fill in price and date, sign, and finish the disclosure boxes; no notary appears among the DVS seller steps. The plates ride along to the buyer, so don't unscrew them. St. Paul sellers can mail in the Notice of Sale or send it online. Under Section 168A.10, a St. Paul seller who has done this, or does it within 48 hours of handing off the car, "is not liable" as owner for damage from later use.

When the car was totaled

The brand arrives with an insurance total loss, declared or paid, or with damage above 80 percent of value. For model years 2021 through 2026 the word is "salvage"; anything older is marked "prior salvage". On a salvage title, registration can be renewed only once. The salvage title guide has the steps.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online and say what the car is, its rough miles, if it moves at all, and how the title looks. Pickup works at a curb, from a garage, or out of a repair shop's lot. West St. Paul (3.3 miles), Roseville and South St. Paul (5.2 miles each) and Minneapolis (8.1 miles) each get a page too. State rules are on Minnesota.