Selling a junk or dead car in Hempstead

Who the town expects to move it

Section 173-11 does not stop at the car's owner. It says the car "shall be removed by the owner, occupant, lessee, agent or tenant thereof or the person occupying, managing or controlling said land." So a tenant with a dead car on a rented Hempstead lot is on the hook, and so is a landlord who manages that lot.

A second section widens the net. Section 95-9 says "Junked or unregistered vehicles, watercraft, equipment and materials shall not be stored in open areas of premises." The word "unregistered" matters. A car that still starts but whose registration lapsed can break this rule as well.

The sections quoted here come from the Town of Hempstead's code. The Village of Hempstead, home to the church in the photo and 59,819 residents, may keep rules of its own on top of them.

When the town ends up with the car

Section 173-5 covers abandoned cars the town takes. First, "The Town of Hempstead shall determine if an abandoned vehicle is suitable for operation on the public highways." A road-worthy car goes to a public sale, with notice "posted conspicuously in at least three public places within the Town not less than six days prior to the date of sale." A car the town judges unfit goes to a dismantler or scrap processor registered under Section 415-a of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. A car missing its VIN plate can only go that route.

State law can be quicker still. Vehicle and Traffic Law 1224 hands a plateless abandoned car straight to the local authority when its wholesale value tops out at $2,250.

Hempstead paperwork, step by step

• Title. The transfer block sits on the reverse of a New York title. A Hempstead seller fills it in and signs, and no notary takes part.
• Bill of sale. New York's version is MV-912. Both names go on it, plus the car, its VIN, what changed hands and the date. Buyer and seller each leave with a copy.
• Plates. Here they belong to you, not the car. Unscrew them and scrape off the windshield sticker as the car leaves. While your Hempstead policy is still active, turn the plates in at the DMV or move them to your next car. Hold on to the FS-6T slip.
• No title. MV-35 is the state's paper for an owner without one. Hempstead owners can use it when the car's value is $1,250 or under and its age is eight model years or more. The buyer must be a certified scrap processor or a DMV-registered dismantler or itinerant collector. That Hempstead car can never be titled again. More in selling with no title.

The state has no form for reporting a sale. What covers a Hempstead seller is the pair of plates in hand and a signed copy of the MV-912.

Close by

Garden City is 2.0 miles away as the crow flies, with Rockville Centre at 3.0, Mineola at 3.1 and Freeport at 4.1. Statewide detail is on our New York page.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Name the car, give a rough mileage, say if the engine cranks, and say where the title ended up. Pickup works from a side street off Front Street or from a garage the town code already pushed the car into.