Selling a dead or junk car in Hattiesburg

If that car is done, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Section 36-118, read line by line

The rule applies to anyone "in charge or control of any property within the city, whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee, or otherwise." Renting does not get you off the hook. A tenant whose car dies is covered the same as the landlord.

It has a second limit for people who leave a car on land that is not theirs: "no person shall leave any such vehicle on any property within the city for a longer time than 24 hours." Towing a dead car to a friend's yard to buy time cuts the clock from three days to one.

The section ends with exceptions ("except that this section shall not apply with regard..."). The text we read cuts off there, so read the full list on Municode before counting on one.

The street is off-limits

Section 36-117 has no clock at all: "No person shall leave any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, or junked vehicle on any street or highway within the city." Even an hour at the curb is a violation.

When police remove a car

Section 50-111 lists when the police department can remove and impound a vehicle from a street. Three of them fit a dead car:

• a car "so disabled as to constitute an obstruction of traffic" when the person in charge is hurt and cannot arrange removal
• a car "left unattended upon a street or is so parked illegally as to constitute a definite hazard"
• a car "parked in a given location beyond the time period allowed by law," where a sign warns that it may be removed

Officers who can identify the owner from paperwork in the car must send written notice promptly, covering the reason for the tow and the car's new location. The cost is yours: removal and impound "shall be at the owner's expense and the driver of said motor vehicle shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

Parking meters

At a parking meter, the limit under Section 50-150 is two hours, "notwithstanding said person may have placed additional coins" after that. The ticket sets a fine of $2.00, payable within seven days, and failing to pay brings further penalties and court costs. A car that won't start at a meter turns into a stack of tickets.

Forrest County or Lamar County

Hattiesburg straddles two counties. Mississippi tags are issued and turned in at the county Tax Collector, and DOR guidance says unused-tag credit travels to any county. So the side of town you live on does not change the credit. Timing does: the credit clock starts at the Tax Collector's counter, not at the sale.

When the tag lapsed while it sat

A lot of junk cars come with an expired tag. Under DOR rules, nothing is added until the 16th of the month following expiration. From then, the charge is 5% over the following 15 days, plus 5% more per 30 days late, topping out at 25 percent, the point where the Legislative Tag Credit disappears. Tickets or registration hold covers selling a car with a lapsed registration.

Signing the title over

• Fill out the seller portions of the assignment; the buyer alone prints and signs on their lines.
• Name the buyer on the title now. An empty buyer line saved for later is, per the DOR, against state law.
• Remove the plate when you assign the title.
• The buyer then has 30 business days from the purchase to register the car.

No title in the glovebox? Form 78-006 and $9.00 get a replacement, which must come before the sale. The Mississippi page has the statewide details.

If it ends up at a tow lot

State rules count a car towed by law enforcement and unclaimed for 40 days as abandoned. The holder must reach the owner and lienholder inside 7 days. In Hattiesburg, once 30 days go by with no claim, the car may be sold or destroyed. See towed or impounded.

Nearby towns

As the crow flies, Gulfport is 63.1 miles from Hattiesburg, Biloxi 64.9, Brandon 77.9 and Pearl 80.7.

Getting an offer

Through the form or at (877) 421-6008, describe the car: make, model, year, odometer, running or not, and title status. Our driver handles Forrest and Lamar addresses alike, from apartment lots to a mechanic's back row.