New Brunswick: selling a car that is dead or junk

The 48-hour rule and the 10-day rule

Two parts of the city code reach a dead car on private land.

• Section 12.20.040 applies to owners, tenants, occupants and lessees alike. The limit is 48 hours for a nonoperating or wrecked car. The section goes on to list exceptions, but the copy we read cuts off before them, so ask the city whether one fits your case.
• Section 15.08.020, the city's version of the property maintenance code, says no one may "park or store any inoperable, wrecked, or partially dismantled vehicle." It goes further: the same ban covers a car whose "tires of which are not inflated" or one without "a current affixed and valid automobile license tag." Here, "storage shall be defined as a period longer than ten (10) days."

So a car with a flat tire or an expired tag can break the code even if the engine still turns over.

What a violation costs

A New Brunswick violation can bring a $100 to $1,000 fine, as much as 90 days in jail, or both, under Section 15.08.020. "Each day that a violation continues after due notice has been served" counts as a separate offense. If a notice comes back undelivered, the city can post a copy on the building. To get a hearing before the Board of Appeals, file a written petition "within five (5) days after the day notice was served."

The street is off limits

Section 12.20.030 bars leaving any "nonoperating, immobile, wrecked or junked vehicle on any public right-of-way, street or highway within the city." Fixing the car at the curb is banned too, except for emergency repairs "completed in less than sixty (60) minutes," unless the police grant more time.

Impound and auction

If police impound or boot a car and outstanding warrants go unpaid, Section 10.04.050 sets the deadline at "twelve midnight on the forty-fifth (45th) day." After that, the police department may sell the car at public auction. The city sends notice by certified mail to the owner, if the name is known, and to any lienholder on file, and runs a newspaper notice at least five days before the sale. See towed or impounded.

Title and plates

In New Jersey, a title can only change hands at a motor vehicle agency. You put your seller's signature on the title's back. A New Brunswick buyer receives it along with a bill of sale. A New Brunswick bill of sale shows the buyer's name and address, the day sold, the miles and the price. The plates stay with you, to return at an agency or move to your next car.

For a lost title, we looked up the Middlesex County MVC Vehicle Center at 2236 Rte 130 North in Dayton. In a straight line it is about 8 miles southwest of central New Brunswick. A duplicate is $60, needs a booked visit, and uses form OS/SS-UTA.

Getting an offer

With a 48-hour limit on private property, waiting is costly in New Brunswick. Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form describing the car, whether it runs, and the title. We can collect from a driveway or a parking lot inside the city. Sayreville and Perth Amboy have their own pages, and New Jersey covers state rules.