Turning a junk or dead car into cash in Hastings

How the nuisance chapter defines a junk car

Chapter 32 counts "dismantled, wrecked, or inoperative automobiles" as junk, along with their parts. Its idea of inoperative is wide: any car with "any condition that would render it in violation of the Nebraska Motor Vehicle Act." The same chapter lists "discarded automobile bodies, inoperative automobiles, parts of automobiles" under refuse, and treats a vehicle or parts that have "lost their identity, character, utility, or serviceability" as litter.

The definitions we read in Section 32-101 do not set a number of days before the city acts on private property. Expect the presumption above to be the starting point if a code officer looks at your car.

Street rules and the red tag

The public side is spelled out. Section 50-513 says no one may park on a public right-of-way, public lot or other publicly owned place "for more than 72 consecutive hours," and only 12 hours in areas where the council has set time limits. When police find a car past that, they "may affix to the vehicle a red tag." Twelve hours after the tag, if the car has not moved, it may be towed to the city impound, where it stays "until all fines and expenses are paid."

Two more lines in the same section matter for a dead car:

• "No person shall park or store any inoperable vehicle, garbage, junk or refuse on a public right-of-way." The code's examples of inoperable run from an "unlicensed, unregistered, wrecked, or partially dismantled car" to stock cars and demolition derby cars.
• Repairs on public streets, city lots or alleys are allowed only "in case of breakdown or other emergency."

Snow emergency routes

Once the mayor calls a snow emergency under Section 50-604, no one may park on any snow emergency route from the time given. Under Section 50-608, a car that stalls on a route has to be towed or pushed onto a cross street that isn't one. Section 50-610 allows police to haul off a parked or stalled car that blocks plowing.

Adams County title and plates

Titles, plates and junk-title surrenders go through the Adams County Treasurer, since Nebraska processes them at County Treasurer offices. We did not list an address for this county.

When you sell, all owners sign the seller's section and any lien is released beforehand. A Hastings seller completes the mileage certification, then gives Form 6 or a bill of sale to whoever buys. No notary appears in the DMV's steps for sellers. Fill in the buyer's part. In Nebraska, an open title breaks the law. Hastings sellers who bring back the plates, registration and decals within 60 days get a refund of unused registration fees and motor vehicle tax.

If the car sat unregistered for a long stretch, Nebraska can charge registration back to the last expiration. You can skip that with a notarized affidavit of storage and non-use that spans a full registration period or longer. Our registration hold guide covers other blocks.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form for your Hastings car. We collect it downtown off 2nd Street or on a farm lot outside town. Hastings is 22.5 miles from Grand Island and 37.0 miles from Kearney; see Nebraska for state rules.