Selling a dead or junk car in Sayreville

Two sections, one rule: keep it running or keep it inside

Section 5-8 bars anyone from keeping "inoperable motor vehicles or vehicles in a state of substantial disrepair" out-of-doors on public or private property in the borough. Section 12-3, the property maintenance code, goes further: "no inoperative or unregistered motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises." So in Sayreville a lapsed registration alone can be a violation, even if the engine still turns over.

Section 12-3 also covers the half-finished project. A car may not sit "in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled." Big jobs, body work included, belong inside a structure.

The 10-day clock and the penalty

Once the Chief of Police or the Construction Official gives notice, the borough may remove the car "within ten (10) days." The bill then goes to the car's owner and the property holder together. A 12-3 violation can also bring a fine of up to twelve hundred fifty dollars, up to 90 days in jail, and up to 90 days of community service.

The way out of 5-8 is a roof. The section "shall not apply to motor vehicles located or stored under cover in garages or other buildings." A car cover in the open driveway is not a building.

A stranger's car on your Sayreville lot

If a car turns up on your property without your consent and its owner won't move it, 5-8 has you notify the Chief of Police with its year, model and make, plus the registration, serial number and owner if you can find them. State law then takes over (N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.6): the stranger's car goes up for public sale, and when that sale falls through, you as landowner may ask the MVC to title it to you.

The Dayton Vehicle Center, title and plates

Paperwork for a Sayreville car ends at an MVC office, since the state won't process a transfer sent through the post. The Vehicle Center we checked for Sayreville is 2236 Rte 130 North in Dayton, about 11 miles southwest of the town center in a straight line. Middlesex County has others we did not list.

Sayreville sellers sign in the seller line on the back of the title. The buyer drives off with it plus a bill of sale that names them and lists their address, the sale day, the odometer and the amount paid. Take the plates off while the car still sits at your Sayreville home. New Jersey plates belong to the seller, so they get turned in at an MVC agency or put on your next car.

Title gone missing? To replace a Sayreville title, reserve a Vehicle Center slot and turn in form OS/SS-UTA. It costs $60. Junk car with no title walks through it.

Getting an offer

Got a car sitting in Sayreville? Call (877) 421-6008 or send us the form. Our truck goes to a driveway, a repair shop's lot, or wherever it died on the way to Perth Amboy or New Brunswick. Statewide steps are on the New Jersey page, and after you sell covers the plates and insurance.