Selling a dead or junk car in Bellevue

Section 19-40 in plain words

The rule covers "any nonoperable, wrecked, junked or partially dismantled motor vehicle or part thereof." If one is "allowed to remain on any lot or ground located within the city's zoning jurisdiction" and "has lost its identity, character, utility or serviceability," the code declares it "a public nuisance" that "is subject to removal." Two details matter:

• It reaches the city's zoning jurisdiction, not only land inside city limits. Nebraska law lets cities act on nuisances in their extraterritorial zoning area too.
• It covers parts as well as whole cars, so a pulled engine or a stripped shell can count.

The sections we have print no day count before removal, so we won't guess one. Call the city if you get a notice.

Upkeep rules that name cars

Bellevue's premises upkeep section, 15-87, lists the "removal of abandoned and junked automobiles, automobile bodies, chassis and parts" alongside cutting weeds and clearing debris. The definitions in 15-1 put "automobile chassis and bodies" inside the meaning of rubbish. A body left to rust is treated like any other junk on the lot. If a letter has already arrived, our guide to a notice to remove a car explains the usual choices.

On the street or someone else's land

Nebraska statute 60-1901 decides when a car is abandoned. On public property that's 6 hours without plates, 24 hours in general, or 48 hours once parking there becomes illegal. On private property the limit is over seven days, when the car was left there without the owner's permission or stays after that permission ends. In Bellevue, an abandoned car with expired plates and a wholesale value of $500 or less goes to the local authority at once. For anything else, the last-registered owner gets notice within 15 business days, and the person who claims the car pays for removal and storage.

Title and plates from Bellevue

Sarpy County's Treasurer handles titles at 1102 E. 1st Street in Papillion, phone 402-593-2148, about 5 miles west of the middle of Bellevue as the crow flies. That is one office we checked; the county may run more.

For a Bellevue sale, clear any lien first. Next, each Bellevue owner named on the title signs as seller, fills out the odometer certification and hands the buyer Form 6 or a bill of sale. Don't leave the buyer's section blank: Nebraska treats an open title as a violation and it can be confiscated. After that, take the plates, registration and decals back to the County Treasurer within 60 days to get a refund of unused registration. A missing title has to be replaced first with a duplicate, which costs $14.00. More in junk car with no title and after you sell.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online and share the year, make, model, mileage and if it starts. We can pick it up from your driveway, a shop, or the spot where it died. Bellevue is in Sarpy County, close to Papillion (7.3 miles) and Omaha (10.1 miles); the Nebraska page covers statewide rules.