Selling a dead car in North Plainfield

The residential parking rule

Section 11-4.3 of the borough code is short and strict. It says that "no currently unregistered and/or uninspected motor vehicle shall be parked on any property in a residential district". It then adds that the car "shall not at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, nor shall it be in the process of being stripped or dismantled."

That reaches three kinds of car on a North Plainfield street of older homes:

• the one whose registration ran out while it sat
• the one that never went back for inspection
• the project with the engine half out

The exception is "a fully enclosed garage". Work inside that garage is allowed too, "provided the work does not produce noise in excess of that permitted by New Jersey law."

The state tests most gas cars for emissions on a two-year cycle, and cars under five model years old qualify for a five-year exemption. If yours failed its test and got parked, see failed inspection or rust.

Why the borough also calls it a hazard

Section 11-8.1, in the property maintenance definitions, lists "motor vehicles" among the things "which may prove a hazard for inquisitive minors". The same section counts "abandoned automobiles" as solid waste. A dead car in a side yard in North Plainfield is therefore more than a parking issue under the code.

Title, plates and the Somerville trip

A New Jersey title can't be transferred by post; the buyer does it face to face at the MVC. Your share as the North Plainfield seller: sign in the seller's spot on the title's back, and write out a bill of sale. That document carries the buyer's name and address, when the sale happened, the mileage and the agreed price.

Before the car rolls off, the plates come off. New Jersey treats them as the owner's, so you return them to the MVC or move them onto a car you keep.

Lost the title? File form OS/SS-UTA for a $60 duplicate. You must book a visit at a Vehicle Center to do it. North Plainfield is in Somerset County; one center we checked is at 10 Roosevelt Place in Somerville, roughly 9 miles to the west as the crow flies.

Around North Plainfield

The borough covers 2.807 square miles. Plainfield is 1.3 miles off, South Plainfield 3.5, Westfield 5.5 and Summit 7.6. The New Jersey page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Our form is the quick way to an offer for a North Plainfield car. We can collect it from a Washington Avenue driveway, a North Plainfield garage or a shop lot.