Cape Girardeau junk and dead car sales

The ten-day rule for parts in view

Section 13-32 is a list of things the city does not want on display. Next to bedding, cardboard and old water heaters, it names the leftovers of car work: loose parts, tires, rims and scrap metal.

Notice "can be served personally or by sending notice via U.S. mail or electronic mail." So check your inbox, not just the mailbox. If the items are still there ten days after notice, "the city may commence abatement pursuant to section 13-28 and the property owner shall be billed for the costs."

The section we read names parts and scrap, not a whole car parked in a driveway. The city may have its own rule for that case, so ask code enforcement if a notice names a full vehicle. State law on abandoned cars, below, applies either way.

Streets, highways and the tow lot

Section 26-86 sets three clocks for abandoned property:

• More than 24 hours on a city street, a state highway or any other public way that is not an interstate.
• Ten hours on an interstate or freeway inside an urbanized area, or "immediately if a law enforcement officer determines that the abandoned property is a serious hazard to other motorists."
• 24 hours on an interstate outside an urbanized area, or four hours for a hazard.

The owner is "responsible for payment of all reasonable charges for towing and storage." If nobody claims the car within ten working days of the tow, the tower looks up the owner and any lienholder in the Department of Revenue's records. To get the car back, you show proof of ownership and pay those charges. Until then the tower holds a lien on it.

Missouri law adds its own timeline. Written notice of the removal goes to the registered owner and lienholder within five working days. The city or county then holds the car 30 days after that notice, or only 10 days if the car is older than six years, more than 50% damaged and worth under $200. Then it can go to a licensed salvage or scrap business. If the car isn't worth what the lot wants, read towed or impounded first.

A dead semi or heavy truck has a tighter limit. Under Section 26-298, a truck tractor, a trailer longer than 20 feet, or a truck licensed over 24,000 pounds can't stay parked on a city street past one hour from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. See junk truck or SUV.

Title, plates and the sale report

Missouri titles come from the Department of Revenue, not the county. Any Missouri license office can take the application, as can the Motor Vehicle Bureau in Jefferson City. For this page we did not check a particular license office in Cape Girardeau or Scott County.

Your part as the seller:

• Sign the title. No notary is needed.
• Write in the mileage and the date of the sale. No correction fluid or erasures.
• Pull your plates before the car leaves, expired or not.
• Report the Cape Girardeau sale to the Department of Revenue inside 30 days, on form DOR-1957 (Bill of Sale) or DOR-5049 (Notice of Sale).

A lost Cape Girardeau title costs $8.50 to replace, plus a $9 processing fee. For a car at least ten model years old that no longer runs, a scrap metal operator may buy it without the title; selling with no title explains the lien check and the bill of sale.

Getting an offer

Cape Girardeau sellers can call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. We pick up wherever it sits, from a driveway near downtown to a lot across the Scott County line. The Missouri page covers the statewide rules, and St. Louis and Arnold are the next metro pages up the river.