Webster Groves gives a dead car 72 hours

Three clocks, and one with none

72 hours at home. Section 70.053, quoted above.

24 hours on public pavement. Section 31.010 lists as a nuisance "allowing trailers, junkers, wrecks, or dilapidated or abandoned automobiles, i.e., owner cannot be determined, whether the same are operable or not, to remain on any street, alley, roadway, public driveway or public parking lot for a period of time in excess of 24 hours."

Zero for a car mid-repair in the open. "No motor vehicle or trailer shall at any time be in a state of disassembly, disrepair or shall be in the process of being stripped or dismantled." Webster Groves counts a car as in that state when even one of these is true:

• the engine is gone
• a wheel or tire is gone
• a hood, fender, door or trunk lid is gone
• it rests on "ramps, jacks or blocks" instead of its tires
• a component is defective

Exemptions are slim: one car inside a fully enclosed structure hidden from the public and the neighbors, or cars being repaired at a service station licensed in the city and kept enclosed or fenced from view. The rule says "at any time", and a car on jacks with a wheel off matches two items on the list. Before stripping more, compare parting out with selling whole.

Where a car may legally sit

Lawns are out. Section 31.010 limits yard parking to a parking space or a durable surface, "including firmly placed and well-maintained rock, gravel or chat driveway." Streets are out as well under Section 70.052: "No person shall leave any partially dismantled, non-operating, wrecked, or junked vehicle on any street, highway, or other public property, within the city." Downtown lots carry short limits; Gore-Lockwood's is "a three-hour continuous parking limit."

Plates count too. Section 70.050 defines a derelict vehicle to include one that "does not display thereon a current valid license plate."

Missouri paperwork, briefly

Missouri title signatures need no notary. A lost title can be replaced for $8.50 and a $9 processing fee at any license office in the state, paid to the Department of Revenue. Webster Groves sellers, being in St. Louis County, also supply an emissions report dated inside 60 days. Plate removal and the 30-day sale report are covered on our Missouri page.

Nearby towns

Kirkwood 3.6 miles; University City 5.6; St. Louis 6.8; Arnold 11.1. All distances are as the crow flies. Cars already short a few pieces: see missing parts.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the form. Say what year and model it is, give the odometer number, and note whether the engine, wheels and doors are all still attached and who holds the title. Pickup works from a detached garage, a chat driveway or a service bay.