Selling a dead car in Starkville

Starkville's own code

We found no Starkville code of ordinances online, so this page sticks to Mississippi law. Starkville may still regulate junk or inoperable cars on lots and streets. Ask Starkville City Hall first if a dead car may sit out the whole semester.

When the car is stuck somewhere else

DOR lists when a car turns abandoned, and two cases fit cars that die away from home:

• sitting at a dealer, repair garage or wrecker lot after the pickup date both sides set, or once 40 days pass with no pickup
• towed in by law enforcement and still unclaimed at 40 days

A third covers public streets: unattended on public property for 5 days or longer.

In Starkville, whoever holds the car must tell the owner and lienholder within a week. If 30 days go by and nobody claims it, it can be sold or destroyed. From July 1, 2026, tow operators and repair shops have to send those certified notices through a state-approved third-party vendor. If police bring in a car and it is later abandoned, it can be sold at public auction, and that sale clears every claim on it.

Cars with no market value have a shortcut. Once two licensed dealers sign off in writing that the car has no value, a tow company, dealer or repair shop may get rid of it. DOR has a checklist for these cars when they go to scrap, dismantling or parts. If the repair estimate outruns the car's worth, read stuck at a repair shop before the 40 days run.

If the title is branded

In Mississippi, a title can be branded salvage, rebuilt, flood-damaged or hail-damaged. A Starkville car whose title says salvage needs an inspection by the Highway Patrol's Salvage Inspection Division. If your insurer paid a total loss and let you keep the car, see insurer totaled it.

Plates and the Oktibbeha County Tax Collector

Off comes the plate when you assign the title, and it goes to the Oktibbeha County Tax Collector. Credit for the unused fee starts from turn-in, not from the sale, and Mississippi lets you use it in any county.

Signing over the title

The seller completes the assignment and leaves the buyer to print a name and sign. A blank buyer name, saved for later, is not allowed under state law. Lost the title? It must be replaced before the sale: send Form 78-006 with $9.00 to DOR's Motor Vehicle Services office in Jackson. A car going to scrap receives a Junked Certificate of Title once its Mississippi title is surrendered.

Nearby towns

Columbus is 24.4 miles from Starkville in a straight line. Tupelo is 56.1, Oxford 73.6 and Meridian 75.0. The Mississippi page has the statewide picture.

Getting an offer

In Starkville, ring (877) 421-6008 or send us a note through the site. Free pickup anywhere in the US means the truck can find the car near campus, in the Cotton District or at a garage.