O'Fallon junk and unlicensed cars, and how to sell one

Where a car may sit

The same section allows storage only when the car is "completely enclosed within a locked building or locked fenced area and not visible from adjacent public or private property." O'Fallon exempts businesses holding a salvage, swap, junk dealer, towing or storage license, as long as they operate within it.

Section 395.010 adds that no one may abandon a car or trailer on the right-of-way of a public road or state highway. Under Section 215.200, a person convicted of abandoning one stays liable for towing, storage and administrative costs. Costs "in excess of the value of the abandoned motor vehicle or trailer" also stay with that person, so long as the towing company gave the title owner and lienholders the notice the section requires.

When a car is towed

Chapter 395 lays out what follows a tow of abandoned property:

• Police check the car against the National Crime Information Center and Missouri's own law enforcement database.
• "Within five (5) working days," written word goes to whoever is registered and to any lienholder: that the car was removed, on what grounds, and to which lot.
• A tow company claiming a lien has to notify the title owner and every lienholder Revenue has on file.
• Owners and lienholders get "ten (10) days" after the towing company's notice to petition the Associate Circuit Court.
• Catch the car on private property before it is hauled away, and the charge tops out at "one-half (1/2) of the regular towing charge."

On an interstate or freeway outside the city's urbanized area, Section 395.030 allows removal after 24 hours unattended, or after 4 hours if an officer finds the car a serious hazard. For a car already in a lot, towed or impounded has the next steps.

Inspections for a St. Charles County seller

St. Charles County puts O'Fallon inside Missouri's emissions zone: a seller here hands over an emissions inspection dated within 60 days. The safety certificate has the same 60-day shelf life. Cars short of 150,000 miles get a pass on that one for their first ten model years. When a car has already flunked, failed emissions is the guide to read, and an old dead car may also fit the scrap rule below.

Title and scrap rules

Missouri handles titles at the state level; O'Fallon sellers can file at any license office in Missouri or send the papers to the Jefferson City bureau.

• No notary is involved at signing.
• Unbolt both plates yourself before the hand-off, whatever their sticker says.
• Revenue wants a sale report within 30 days at most. The Notice of Sale is form DOR-5049, and the Bill of Sale is DOR-1957.

An old dead car can also go to scrap with no title. If an online search turns up no lien, a scrap metal operator may buy an O'Fallon owner's dead car without a title, as long as it has reached ten model years. The seller supplies a bill of sale, which certifies the car's age, that it is inoperable and lien-free, and that the seller may sell it, plus a copy of a state ID.

Getting an offer

O'Fallon sellers can call (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. In O'Fallon the truck comes to the garage, the fenced side lot, or the repair shop where the car is. St. Peters and St. Charles have their own pages, and Missouri covers the state.