Selling a dead car in Belton

Out of sight is not always enough

Section 14-3 skips a car "in an enclosed building" or one parked where it is not readily visible. Belton's development code is stricter in home areas. Section 4-4 says that in all agricultural and residential zoning districts, "junk material, inoperable vehicles, and/or trailers" must be "stored within a fully enclosed building." In those districts, a fence or a hidden corner of the yard does not replace a garage.

Five dead cars and the junk-yard line

The development code's definition of a junk yard includes a place with "more than four vehicles or appliances which are inoperable for a period of over seven consecutive days." Someone holding on to several old cars for parts can drift into that definition without meaning to. Tow lots get their own limit: inoperable vehicles there may be "stored temporarily for up to 30 days." Clearing more than one at a time is covered in several junk cars.

Downtown parking and getting a towed car back

Parking is limited to two hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, on Main Street between Cherry Street and Herschel Street and on Cherry Street south of Main. A car that dies in one of those spots runs out of time quickly.

Under Belton's Section 19-39, after a police tow the owner pays towing and storage charges "after proof of ownership and before sale," and the department provides "a receipt showing the amount paid." Missouri law says the registered owner and any lienholder must get a letter about the tow within five working days.

License office and Missouri title rules

Belton titles come from the state, and any Missouri license office takes the application. A Cass County office we looked up is at 2009 Plaza Drive, Harrisonville, MO 64701, phone 816-884-4133. From central Belton it lies roughly 14 miles southeast, measured directly. The Motor Vehicle Bureau in Jefferson City also takes applications by mail.

What a Belton seller does:

• Sign the title. Missouri does not require a notary.
• Fill in the mileage and sale date cleanly. No erasing and no correction fluid.
• Unless the Belton car is exempt, the buyer gets a safety inspection certificate done in the last 60 days. Cass County isn't an emissions area, so you can skip that test.
• Take off the plates before the buyer has the car.
• Within 30 days, report the Belton sale with a Bill of Sale (DOR-1957) or form DOR-5049.

Getting a new copy of a lost title costs $8.50 and a $9 processing fee.

Getting an offer

Reach us from Belton at (877) 421-6008 or online. We collect from wherever it sits, such as a garage off Main Street or a gravel patch at the edge of town. Raymore and Grandview are each about 4 miles away, and the statewide rules are on Missouri.