Selling a car that is stuck at a Saratoga Springs curb

Alternate-side days

Where both curbs allow parking, the legal side flips each day. From 8 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays until 8 a.m. the day after, one curb is closed. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays close the other. Posted signs override this on some blocks. A car that will not start cannot keep up, so a ticket can land long before the 96 hours pass.

The Police Department can remove and store any vehicle left parked "in violation of any statute, ordinance, rule or regulation," and any vehicle with unpaid parking fines. Once the police have made "a reasonable attempt to give notice" to the owner, an officer can ticket the car and tow it without further warning. For a first conviction under a city rule that is not also a state traffic law, the penalty can reach a $50 fine, 15 days in jail, or both.

Getting a towed car back

Under Section 225-59, a car the city removes is kept by the Police Department or by a contracted towing service. The owner or operator can redeem it "upon proof of expenses and storage fees incurred." Those fees cannot go above the maximums in the city's towing contract. The city may add its own surcharge for each car towed.

A car nobody claims is a different story. Section 225-54.1 lets the city take abandoned vehicles for its own use under the state's § 1224.

Older cars and New York paperwork

Saratoga garages hold plenty of old iron, and New York treats the oldest of it differently. Cars from model year 1972 or earlier never got titles, so the transferable registration is used in its place. For a newer Saratoga Springs car, the seller signs the title over, and buyer and seller both sign an MV-912 bill of sale. Skip the notary.

New York requires a yearly safety inspection, plus one each time the owner changes. Most cars also get an OBDII emissions check. Cars past 25 model years skip emissions. Someone buying from a private party has a 10-day window after registering to get the sticker.

Plates remain yours. Pull them with the windshield sticker as the car goes, and either turn them in to DMV while the policy is still active or move them to your next car. File away the FS-6T receipt. After you sell has the rest.

Nearby towns

Straight-line distances from Saratoga Springs: Glens Falls 18.1 miles, Schenectady 19.8, Troy 23.5 and Albany 27.8. For statewide rules, see New York.

Getting an offer

Fill out the form or call (877) 421-6008. Share the car's model and year, its mileage, if it still cranks, and if you have a title or, on a pre-1973 car, a registration. The truck can load it at the curb, in the driveway or out of a garage.