Grand Island: clearing out a junk car that won't run

Where an unlicensed car is allowed

Section 17-58 lists only two places. The first is a tract used for a business tied to such vehicles, "such as an automotive body shop," where cars and parts sit behind "a sight-obscuring fence at least six feet in height." The second is any other tract, "so long as such unlicensed or inoperable vehicles and such vehicle parts are placed within a building." A driveway, a back lot or a gravel pad behind the garage is none of those.

The word "unlicensed" matters here. That one sentence treats a car with lapsed plates that drives fine the same as one with a seized engine.

After a conviction under 17-57, the car or parts on the lot "shall be deemed a public nuisance" and can be abated under Section 20-15 when the police department asks in writing. Section 17-59 also lets the chief of police or any police supervisor have unlicensed or inoperable vehicles and parts removed, and the towing, impound and disposal rules of Chapter 22 then apply.

When a car counts as abandoned

Section 22-106.1 sets the public-property clocks. A car left unattended "with no license plates or valid In Transit stickers" becomes abandoned after more than six hours on public property. A car left on public property where parking is allowed becomes abandoned "for more than forty-eight hours, after the parking of such vehicle has become illegal."

Separately, Section 22-99 makes it unlawful to leave any vehicle "at one location upon the streets or upon any public 'free parking' lot for a period longer than seventy-two hours."

How the city sells or keeps a towed car

This is the part most owners never see coming. Under Section 22-108, if an abandoned car has no current-year plates and is worth "five hundred dollars or less" wholesale, given its condition, "title shall immediately vest in the City of Grand Island." That $500 figure is a legal test the city applies, not a price anyone pays you.

For any other car, the chief of police notifies the last-registered owner and any lienholder within fifteen business days. Unclaimed, it is either sold at public auction after five days from the date the notice was mailed, or title vests in the city thirty days after mailing. Anyone claiming the car pays the cost of removal and storage.

Before a sale, release under Section 22-106 takes three things: every unpaid overdue parking ticket, an impounding fee from the User Fee Schedule, and the towing and storage charges. When those conditions can't be met, the owner may hire a towing service to take the car, as long as it is "not operated on the roadway." The code also says the city and the property owner aren't liable for damage while it is removed or stored. When the city sells, Section 22-110 has the chief of police report the money to the city treasurer, who keeps it for the owner for a period the code sets.

Snow routes

Section 22-113 names the routes, among them Adams Street and Harrison Street between Stolley Park Road and Anna Street, Eddy Street between Anna and State Streets, Seventeenth Street from the Walnut and State intersection to Plum Street, and Walnut Street from Locust to Fourth Street. Under Section 22-116, a car that stalls on one during a parking ban must be towed or pushed off "either onto the nearest cross street which is not a snow emergency route, or other appropriate location."

Hall County title office

We checked the office at 200 South Sycamore Street, Suite 2, phone (308) 385-5030. It sits about 1 mile east of downtown Grand Island. In Nebraska the County Treasurer handles titles, plates, refunds and junk-title surrenders.

Grand Island sellers pay off any lien first, and then each listed owner signs. You complete the odometer certification and provide a bill of sale or Form 6; our bill of sale guide covers that piece. Fill in the buyer's name, address and signature in the purchaser's part when the sale happens. One spouse can't act as agent and sign for the other. The DMV's seller steps list no notary.

A few Nebraska rules apply to older or damaged cars in particular:

• Plates and refund. Return the plates, registration and decals to the County Treasurer no later than 60 days after the sale to recover the unused registration, motor vehicle tax and fees.
• Salvage. A late-model car is salvage when repair costs reach 75% of its retail value. Nebraska uses four title brands: salvage, previously salvaged, flood damaged and manufacturer buyback. Rebuilding a salvage car back to a regular title takes a Sheriff's inspection, which costs $10. See salvage title.
• Parked for a long time. Nebraska can bill registration fees back to the title date or last expiration, unless the owner proves storage and non-use with a notarized affidavit covering at least a full registration period. A registration is not delinquent until the first day of the month after it expires.
• Junking it yourself. Signing the title to "JUNK" and turning it in with the plates ends the car's road life; from then on it is for parts only.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or start online. Say what kind of car it is, its miles, if the engine cranks and if the title is in hand. Our driver collects it from its spot, be it a lot east of downtown, a shop on the edge of town or a driveway near Stolley Park Road. Grand Island is 22.5 miles from Hastings and 40.8 miles from Kearney; state rules are on the Nebraska page.