Kirkwood: selling a dead or junk car

If it is not worth that trouble, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits; pickup is free anywhere in the US, from a side street near the train station to a garage off Kirkwood Road.

Kirkwood's own code was not found

We could not find Kirkwood's vehicle ordinances online, so what follows is Missouri law. Section 304.157 says a local government may also provide for towing of vehicles from real property under an ordinance. Kirkwood may have rules stricter than the state's, and the city is the place to ask.

Missouri's clock for a towed car

Here is how the state handles a vehicle that ends up towed:

1. Removal. Once abandoned property has sat unattended on private real property more than 48 hours, police can approve a tow. A safety hazard can be towed sooner (Section 304.157).
2. The owner search. Within five working days of the report, the Director of Revenue looks through records to find the owner and any lienholder (Section 304.156).
3. The letter. The registered owner and lienholder get a written notice of the removal inside five working days (Section 304.158).
4. The hold. The city or county keeps the car 30 days after that notice. For a Kirkwood car worth under $200, more than 50% damaged and over six years old, Section 304.156 shortens the hold to 10 days. Next, a licensed salvage or scrap business takes in the Kirkwood car.

Storage charges build up during that hold, so selling a dead car before it is towed is often the cheaper end. See towed or impounded if it already happened.

Handing over a Kirkwood car

Missouri titles do not need a notary. As seller, you fill in the mileage and sale date. No erasures or correction fluid can appear on the title.

Inspections are where Kirkwood sellers pay attention. A Kirkwood seller owes the buyer a safety inspection certificate issued in the last 60 days, says the Department of Revenue. Section 307.350 only exempts vehicles under 150,000 miles for ten years past their model year. A car that is older or has more miles gets no exemption. Kirkwood is in St. Louis County, so an emissions inspection under 60 days old applies too. A Kirkwood car that fails both can still be sold to a scrap metal operator under Section 301.227, as long as it doesn't run and is ten model years old or more.

Pull the plates before the buyer takes possession, valid or expired. After that, a Kirkwood seller gets 30 days to send in DOR-1957, the Bill of Sale, or DOR-5049, the Notice of Sale. Lost the title? Any Missouri license office takes a duplicate application for $8.50 plus a $9 processing fee.

Near Kirkwood

Webster Groves is 3.6 miles away in a straight line, Ballwin 7.1, University City 7.7 and Maryland Heights 9.9. The Missouri page gathers the state rules.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form about your Kirkwood car. We collect all over Kirkwood and beyond.