Selling a junk or dead car in Bridgeton

Chapter 265: what the city bans

Section 265-1 says "it shall be unlawful to store unregistered, untagged, inoperable motor vehicles or vehicles in states of disrepair" on property within the City of Bridgeton. The code spells out what disrepair includes, and the list is broad:

• "one or more missing or flat tires"
• "one or more broken windows"
• "vehicles missing doors, trunks, hoods"
• body damage bad enough that the car "cannot legally be driven"

There are two ways out. A business with the right zoning permits may store cars if they are kept "in an orderly fashion." And a resident may keep or rebuild a car "provided that such vehicle is maintained in a garage or similarly approved structure." A tarp in the side yard is not a structure.

Lawn parking and loose parts

Chapter 203 adds a rule about where a car may sit at all. No vehicle may be parked between the street and a building unless it is on "an existing, defined driveway or parking area (having been created by paving, concrete or stone)." A dead car pushed onto the grass in front of a Bridgeton house breaks that rule even before Chapter 265 comes into it. The same chapter bars dumping "vehicle parts, rubber tires" along any street without the owner's written consent.

The 30-day and 15-day clocks

Two chapters turn an unregistered car into an abandoned one after 30 days.

• Private land, Chapter 347. A car parked "without the current year's registration" for more than 30 days counts as abandoned. Keeping one "in an open and visible manner" on private land is unlawful. Police may tow and impound it. To get it released you pay the removal and storage costs, along with any Police Division charges.
• Notice and sale. Code Enforcement must write to the registered owner within 15 days of an impoundment, by personal service or certified mail. If the car then sits unclaimed for 30 days, it may be sold.
• Streets and lots, Chapter 334. A car with no current registration tag left on a public street or parking area for more than 30 days is abandoned. If it can be certified for a junk title and nobody claims it for "a period in excess of 15 business days," the Police Division may sell it at a public auction.

Already hauled off by the city? Read towed or impounded.

Title and plates from Bridgeton

Bridgeton buyers must transfer the title at an MVC agency in person. It can't be mailed.

Your part is the seller's block on the title's reverse side: sign it, then hand that title over along with a bill of sale. A Bridgeton bill of sale lists four things: the buyer and their address, the date, the mileage, and the price. The buyer then has 10 working days to transfer it. Miss that and a $25 penalty kicks in. Lost the title? Order a replacement before the sale; the MVC charges $60, uses form OS/SS-UTA and wants a Vehicle Center appointment. See selling with no title.

Plates stay with you. Unscrew them, then hand them in at an MVC office or bolt them onto your next car. A buyer never gets them. After you sell covers the rest.

Towns around Bridgeton

Millville is 9.7 miles away in a straight line, Vineland 12.6 and Glassboro 19.7. For statewide rules, see New Jersey.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or use the form. Have four answers handy: what car it is, about how many miles, if it cranks, and the name on the title. We load it right where it is parked, be that a paved Bridgeton driveway near Commerce Street or the shop lot where the repair stalled.