Selling a junk car in Roselle

Roselle's two junk-car sections

Section 279-30, inoperable vehicles. It is unlawful in Roselle to keep, "on streets, vacant lots and residential lawns", any vehicle "which is missing tires, wheels, the engine or any essential parts or which displays extensive body damage or deterioration or which does not display a current, valid state license". The one exception is "a fully enclosed structure". An expired registration is enough for a Roselle car on a street, vacant lot or home lawn to break this section, even if it still starts.

Chapter 519, abandoned vehicles. Section 519-1 bars anyone from leaving a car abandoned "on public property and streets or private property and driveways within the boundaries of the Borough of Roselle". Section 519-6 then covers a car that is "unsightly or incapable of locomotion under its own power" and stored in the open where it can be seen "from the streets or adjoining property". That is where the 10-day allowance comes from. Junkyards the zoning code permits, and tow-away areas the Borough Council approves, are exempt.

A car that is not yours

The same chapter puts duties on whoever controls the land. If a stranger's car turns up on your property in Roselle, Section 519-1 says to "promptly notify the Chief of Police" with the year, model and make, and the registration or serial number if you can find it. If the car "is no longer self-propelled", the property owner has to "remove and dispose of same through a private contractor by private means". Under Section 519-5, an owner who ignores a police request to remove it must give the borough the vehicle's details and allow access.

New Jersey title and plates, from Roselle

There is no mail-in option for a New Jersey title transfer; the buyer finishes it in person at the MVC. Before that, you as the Roselle seller sign the seller's box on the reverse and write a bill of sale. Put the buyer's name and home address on it, plus the date you sold, the odometer number and what they paid.

Keep your plates out of the deal. Pull them off right where the car is parked in Roselle. Roselle sellers then return the plates to the MVC or move them to a car they still drive.

Roselle owners missing a title pay $60 for a new one, booking a slot and filing form OS/SS-UTA. One Union County center we looked up is in Rahway at 1140 Woodbridge Rd, corner of East Hazelwood Ave, around 4 miles south of Roselle as the crow flies.

Next door to Roselle

The borough covers 2.635 square miles. Linden is 2.1 miles away, Rahway 3.3, Elizabeth 3.6 and Westfield 4.4. See New Jersey for the state rules.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Let us know the car, its rough mileage, if it moves, and the state of the title. Pickup works from a Roselle lawn, a driveway off Chestnut Street, or the shop that has the car. Already stripped for parts? See missing parts.