Junk and dead cars in Lindenhurst

Five days from the mailing

The village calls outdoor storage of these cars "a matter affecting the public interest." When it acts, the notice carries "a demand that the motor vehicle, appliance, rubbish or debris be removed from the premises on or before five days after the service or mailing of such notice."

Read that clock carefully. It runs from the service or the mailing, not from the day you open the envelope. A notice that sat in the box over a long weekend can leave you two or three days. The rule is written for cars kept outdoors, so the quickest fixes are moving the car inside or off the property. Our page on a notice to remove a car walks through the options.

If the problem is a failed inspection rather than a dead engine, see failed inspection or rust. New York inspects every 12 months and at a change of owner, and most checks include an OBDII emissions test.

On Lindenhurst's streets

The code makes it unlawful "to park or leave unattended or to suffer or permit to be parked or left unattended any abandoned vehicle on any public Village street, highway or place." It also bars a car left where it would "obstruct or impede snow removal equipment or any emergency vehicle."

The bill follows the registration: "The last registered owner of such abandoned vehicle shall be liable to the Incorporated Village of Lindenhurst for the cost of removal, storage or disposal of such vehicle." That makes it worth closing out your name on the car the day it leaves. State law has deadlines too. Vehicle and Traffic Law 1224 says a plateless car in a public place is abandoned once more than 6 hours pass.

Plates, then insurance

New York skips the notice-of-sale step entirely. What protects a Lindenhurst seller is the plates. At the sale, pull them and the registration sticker off the windshield. Next, in Lindenhurst, take the plates straight to the DMV or move them onto your next car. Cancel the liability policy only after that. Get the FS-6T receipt; plate frames and fasteners are not accepted. Skipping this can bring an insurance-lapse letter and a suspended registration. After you sell lists each step.

Selling it with a title, or without

With the title in hand, complete the seller's assignment on its reverse and write up Form MV-912 showing the VIN, what was paid and the day of sale. No notary is needed in Lindenhurst, and buyer and seller each keep a copy. The Lindenhurst buyer carries the original to the NYS DMV.

Without one, either order a duplicate on Form MV-902 for $20, or use Form MV-35. The second route is narrow. $1,250 is the value cap for Lindenhurst owners. The car also has to be at least eight model years old. Lindenhurst sellers can only sell to three kinds of buyer: itinerant collectors, DMV-registered dismantlers and state-certified scrap processors. In Lindenhurst, a charity or tow driver can't buy on that form, and the car stays untitled for good. More in junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Describe the car to us online or at (877) 421-6008: what it is, the odometer reading, and if it still cranks. We can load it at your driveway, on a side street, or at the shop that couldn't fix it. Lindenhurst is 11.4 miles from Freeport and 13.0 from Hempstead; see New York for state rules.