Selling a broken-down car in Rochester

How Rochester's code works

Rochester did not write its own definition of an abandoned car from scratch. Article I says its purpose is "to administer § 1224 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law with respect to abandoned vehicles left on private or city-owned property within the City of Rochester, excluding the public highways, city parking lots and garages." It also carries out the state's abandoned-vehicle regulations, Title 15, Part 18.

So the state's tests apply on private and city land. Section 1224 sets three clocks in Rochester. A car with no plates is abandoned after 6 hours in a public place. In Rochester, any car counts once it sits in public past 24 hours, or on someone else's land for 96 hours without an okay.

The city then adds a broader rule. Any "junked, abandoned or unlicensed vehicle standing, parked or stored on private or city-owned property in violation of any law or ordinance" is "deemed a public nuisance." The person who caused it, the property owner, or the city's Commissioner can be the one to abate it.

Where an unlicensed car may not sit

The code limits where an unregistered car can be stored on a lot. "Unlicensed vehicles shall not be stored in any required parking space or in access to or maneuvering space for any required parking space or in any required open space." The storage must also meet the Zoning Code and the rest of the Municipal Code. In practice, a dead car blocking the driveway space a house is required to have is a problem even before anyone calls it junk.

City land moves faster

On property the city owns, other than streets and city lots and garages, "the Commissioner may immediately remove any unlicensed, junked or abandoned vehicle." Removed cars go to the Chief of Police for storage and disposal. Where the title passes straight to the city under state law, the Commissioner "may immediately sell to a vehicle dismantler or a scrap processor."

State law sets when that happens. An unplated abandoned car worth $2,250 or under wholesale belongs to Rochester right away. The city can scrap it without a title. For anything else, the last owner is notified, an auction can follow after ten days, and a reclaiming owner pays the city's removal and storage costs.

If someone else's car is stranded on your property, read abandoned car on your property before you call anyone. You cannot sell it yourself; in New York only the person named on the title can sell.

Selling your own car in Rochester

A New York transfer rests on proof of ownership and proof of sale:

• The title. Complete and sign the seller's assignment printed on its reverse.
• Form MV-912. The bill of sale names you and the buyer, the car, its VIN, the price and the date. Make a copy for each side.

No notary touches either one. To title and register the car, the Rochester buyer brings your original bill of sale into a NYS DMV office. Cars from model year 1972 or earlier get no New York title. For those, the transferable registration works in its place.

The buyer also deals with inspection. New York requires an inspection every 12 months and when a car changes owners. Someone buying from a private seller has 10 days after registering to have it done. A car that cannot pass is still sellable as it sits; see failed inspection or rust.

No title, or a wrecked car

Lost the title? File Form MV-902 for $20, and the duplicate is printed in Albany and mailed to you.

Form MV-35 is meant for junk. This form is for the owner alone. In Rochester the car must be eight or more model years old, and its value can't top $1,250. The buyer must be a "registered vehicle dismantler, itinerant vehicle collector or certified scrap processor." Charities, tow-truck drivers and private people can't buy a Rochester car this way. Both the owner and the driver who delivers the car add a government ID. For a Rochester junk car, the dismantler files the paperwork within 15 business days. After that, it is never titled again.

Who you sell to matters here. New York requires a DMV dismantler registration for any Rochester buyer who parts out cars or scraps them. Working without it is a class E felony. Our guide to who buys cars for parts explains the difference.

If an insurer once took the car with a salvage certificate, or repairs would have cost more than 75% of its value, it carries a salvage history, and that brand stays on the title for good.

The plates do not go with the car

No notice of sale gets filed by a Rochester seller. Your protection is the plates. At the sale, remove them and the registration sticker on the windshield. Don't drop the Rochester policy until the DMV has the plates back or they're on another car you own. New York says "No insurance, no plates." Rochester sellers should get the FS-6T receipt and keep a bill of sale copy in case a lapse letter shows up. After you sell covers the rest.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the online form. Got a car sitting in Rochester? Start with the offer form. A city driveway, a rental's back lot or a repair shop can be where pickup happens. Rochester's nearest pages are a drive away: Lockport at 54.4 miles and Auburn at 55.5. Statewide rules are on the New York page.