Wildwood's 72-hour junk car rule, and selling the car

When the car is not worth fixing, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits; pickup is free anywhere in the US, down a gravel drive as readily as off Manchester Road.

Two ways out of the 72-hour rule

Section 210.290 names two exceptions. Since it "shall not apply to any vehicle enclosed within a building," a dead car kept in a closed garage or barn is not covered. And it does not stop anyone from keeping "a motor vehicle of historic interest, as defined in Section 301.131, RSMo." Anything else past 72 hours is, in the code's words, "a public nuisance which may be abated."

How a nuisance vehicle case runs

Chapter 215, Article V sets the steps once the city acts:

1. Notice and a hearing. In Wildwood, "Upon proper notice and an opportunity to be heard," the car's owner plus the land's owner or occupant are "jointly and individually liable" for removal, storage and disposal. A landlord and a tenant can both be on the hook.
2. Ten days at least. You get "a reasonable time, not less than ten (10) days from the date of the notice," to deal with the car or ask for a hearing.
3. City removal. If neither happens, the city removes the vehicle and "all costs relating thereto shall be levied against the owner and/or custodian."
4. Getting it back. Before a seized Wildwood car is sold or destroyed, the owner can redeem it in normal business hours by showing proof of ownership and paying the City Clerk or the clerk's designee.

The tower who hauls it holds a lien for towing and storage, and must keep a record for three years on each car that nobody claims.

A side note for pickup day: Section 415.030 counts a tow truck or flat-bed truck as a commercial vehicle. None may be parked on a roadway in a residential district between midnight and 6 a.m., outside emergencies.

Missouri paperwork for a Wildwood seller

Signing the title needs no notary in Missouri. Write the odometer reading and the sale date in ink, and do not use correction fluid or erase anything. Take the plates off, valid or expired, before the buyer drives or tows the car away. Within 30 days, Wildwood sellers notify the Department of Revenue with a Notice of Sale (DOR-5049) or, if they'd rather, a Bill of Sale (DOR-1957).

Wildwood is in St. Louis County. A Wildwood buyer gets two papers from the seller: a safety inspection certificate no more than 60 days old and an emissions inspection no more than 60 days old. Section 307.350 lets a vehicle under 150,000 miles go without safety inspection until ten years past its model year.

Under Section 301.227, a Wildwood car that is only good for scrap and ten model years old or more can go to a scrap metal operator without a title. You sign a bill of sale saying it is inoperable and lien-free, and the operator sends it to the state with a copy of your ID.

Towns near Wildwood

Ballwin is 6.5 miles off as the crow flies, Chesterfield 7.5, Kirkwood 13.3 and O'Fallon 14.2. Statewide rules are on the Missouri page.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, share the year, make, model and mileage, if it runs, and any title issues. If there is already a notice on the windshield, tell us its date. We can pick the car up right where it is.