Selling a dead or junk car in Warrensburg

The parts of the city code that touch a dead car

We did not find a junk-vehicle nuisance rule in the Warrensburg sections we reviewed. Warrensburg may have its own limits, so ask the city before a broken car spends months in your yard. Three sections do matter:

• Snow routes, Section 23-336. Police may tow a car on a snow emergency route under a parking ban, or any illegally parked car "interfering or about to interfere with snow removal operations."
• Lights after dark, Section 23-502. A car on a roadway or shoulder needs a white or amber lamp showing forward and a red lamp showing back from a half-hour after sunset to a half-hour before sunrise, whenever you cannot make out a person 500 feet away. A dead battery makes that impossible.
• Zoning, Section 27-6. One definition covers any area used for "the collecting, dismantling, storage or salvaging of inoperable machinery and vehicles or for the sale of parts therefrom." Another, for premises that repair motor vehicles, leaves out "the dismantling or extended storage of wrecked vehicles." Ask the city how these apply before you take a car apart.

When Missouri law decides

Where the city is silent, state law fills in. Once a car has been left alone on private land for over 48 hours, police can approve a tow, or earlier if it poses a safety hazard. A city may also set up towing from property by ordinance. Around Warrensburg, a car stopped on an interstate or freeway within an urbanized area may stay for ten hours.

Within five working days of a tow, the owner and any lienholder receive written notice. After that notice, the city or county keeps the car for 30 days. A Warrensburg car is held just 10 days if it's older than six years, damaged past 50% and valued below $200. Next, the Warrensburg car is handed over to a scrap or salvage business with a license. See towed or impounded for getting one back.

Signing the title in Johnson County

In Missouri, the state issues titles, not the county. Warrensburg owners can take title papers to the Jefferson City Motor Vehicle Bureau or a license office near town. The Missouri Department of Revenue runs both.

• No notary is needed for the title signatures.
• Fill in the odometer reading and sale date without erasing anything or using correction fluid.
• Provide a safety inspection certificate issued within the last 60 days. Cars with fewer than 150,000 miles are exempt for ten years past their model year. Johnson County is not on the emissions-test list.
• Take your Warrensburg plates off, valid or expired, before the car is driven or towed away.
• Warrensburg sellers report to the state within 30 days, using a DOR-1957 (Bill of Sale) or else a DOR-5049 (Notice of Sale).

Replacing a lost Warrensburg title runs $8.50 plus a $9 processing fee. An old wreck has a second route. In Warrensburg, a scrap buyer may take a dead car of ten model years without a title. It runs an online lien search first and copies your state ID. No lien search is needed once a Warrensburg car reaches 20 model years. More in selling with no title and after you sell.

Towns around Warrensburg

Measured as the crow flies: Sedalia is 26.7 miles away, Blue Springs 33.9 miles, Lee's Summit 37.2 miles, Raymore 39.6 miles, Independence 40.4 miles and Raytown 42.7 miles. Statewide rules are on the Missouri page.

Getting an offer

Warrensburg car quit on you? Call (877) 421-6008 or use our form. We tow from courthouse-area driveways, work lots and repair shops.