Selling a junk or dead car in Buffalo

What Chapter 454 is for

The chapter states three goals. It sets up "an orderly system for the safe and expeditious removal of disabled motor vehicles from the streets of the City of Buffalo." It supervises the towing companies allowed to tow for the Police Department or the Division of Parking Enforcement. And it covers removing and disposing of vehicles abandoned on city streets. A car that dies on a Buffalo street is the kind of car this chapter was written for.

The law counts boot operators as part of the towing trade too. Owners of tow trucks and of vehicle boots, and their agents and employees, all fall under it.

Booted on a private lot

Two rules protect a driver who gets back to the car while a boot is going on:

• If the operator has started but "has not yet locked the boot onto the vehicle," and you offer to move the car off the property, the boot comes off "at no charge."
• If the boot is locked but the operator has not left the property yet, the charge for removing it is capped at "one-half of the boot removal fee set forth in Chapter 175, Fees."

When a lot's contract covers booting more than one vehicle, or booting in general, it has to say when a parked car can be towed or booted: how long it can sit in violation first, where parking is banned, and whether a warning is required.

A junk car on your own property

Every Buffalo section we read is about towing or street removal. Buffalo has two rules here. § 1224 is about a car parked over 96 hours on another person's land with no okay. City law handles a junk car on the owner's own lot. Buffalo may well have its own yard rules, so ask the city first.

On streets, state law treats a car as abandoned after a full day, or after 6 hours if it has no plates, and the city where it sits takes custody.

Salvage history and title brands

Many Buffalo junk cars carry an insurance past, and New York's salvage rules travel with them. A car is salvage when an insurer took it with a Salvage Certificate (MV-907A) over significant damage, or when repair costs top 75% of its retail value before the damage. It is also salvage when another state already gave it a salvage title, or when its owner marked it a "wreck" on the back of a New York title at the sale.

Under 15 NYCRR 20.20 a brand never comes off a title. A car brought to Buffalo from another state with a "salvage," "rebuilt," "junk," "parts only" or "water damage" label gets "salvage rebuilt" instead, since New York has no flood brand. If a newly registered car turns out to have a hidden salvage history, it must go through the salvage process before New York will title it or renew the registration. See salvage title for selling a branded car.

Signing over a Buffalo junk car

Whether the title is clean or branded, you sign it over in the transfer section and include an MV-912 bill of sale. There is no notary step. A Buffalo bill of sale names the buyer and seller, the car and VIN, the price and the sale date. The buyer's original goes to DMV. Lost the title? Junk car with no title explains the duplicate and the MV-35 option for older, low-value cars sold to DMV-registered buyers.

Plates and insurance

As the car leaves, so do the plates and the windshield sticker. Get the plates back to DMV, or bolted onto another vehicle, while the insurance is still active. DMV won't take frames or fasteners. Buffalo sellers should file the FS-6T receipt with their bill of sale copy. After you sell covers the rest.

Nearby towns

North Tonawanda sits 10.8 miles away by straight line, Niagara Falls 15.9 and Lockport 20.9. For statewide rules, see New York.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Describe the car, what the odometer reads, if the engine cranks, and if a salvage brand is printed on the title. Side street, driveway or private lot, the truck goes to the car.