Selling a junk or dead car in Burlington

When Burlington calls a car junked

The city does not order a car off private land on looks alone. Under Section 16-6, the code enforcement officer may order removal only "after finding in writing that the aesthetic benefits of removing the vehicle outweigh the burdens imposed on the private property owner." Staff also look at the tires, the wheels and other essential parts.

Once that order exists, it becomes "unlawful for the registered owner or person entitled to the possession of a junked motor vehicle," or for whoever owns, rents or occupies the land, "to leave or allow the vehicle to remain on the property after the vehicle has been ordered removed." The same section makes it unlawful to ignore the chapter's "location requirements or the concealment requirements."

Two departments split the work. Section 16-3 gives the police department cars on public property, streets included. The city's code enforcement team deals with "abandoned, junked and hazardous vehicles located on private property," and it can contract private tow operators to remove, store and get rid of them.

The 14-day letter

Section 16-8 requires notice before a tow. If Burlington can trace a mailing address for the owner or occupant with reasonable effort, the warning travels first class. If not, or if the car counts as abandoned, it is stuck to the car "in a conspicuous place."

Either way, the warning gives the reason and says the car "will be removed within fourteen days after the postmarked date or date of affixation of the notice unless removed prior to that time." That fortnight is your window to sell it. Notice can be dropped entirely when there is "a special need for prompt action." The code's own examples are cars "blocking or obstructing ingress or egress to businesses or residences," cars left as traffic hazards, and cars damaging property. Read notice to remove a car before the two weeks run out.

Someone else's dead car on your lot

Section 16-13 puts the city last in line. It will not remove a car from private property "if the owner, occupant or lessee could have the vehicle removed under applicable state law procedures," and it will not order one removed without a written request unless code enforcement has found it hazardous or junked. The city may also make the person asking for removal indemnify it against costs from the removal, storage or sale. See car abandoned on your property.

Tickets that turn into a tow

Burlington ties impounds to old parking tickets. Under Section 36-172, the police chief or a designee may tow "any vehicle which is illegally parked, and/or for which there are three (3) or more outstanding, unpaid and overdue parking tickets for a period of ninety (90) days." Matching plate numbers are enough to connect the car to the tickets. Overtime parking adds up too: Section 36-163 adds a penalty for each extra time period a car stays past the limit.

After an impound, the city mails notice to the registered owner and any known lienholders at the address NCDMV has on file. The car comes back once every overdue ticket, plus towing and storage, is paid. To contest the tow, hand-deliver a written hearing request to the police department, or send it certified, within seven days of the impound letter reaching you. If the car is left there, the section points to the abandoned-vehicle rules in Chapter 16 for its disposal. Towed or impounded explains the choice between paying it out and letting it go.

Title work from Burlington

NCDMV in Raleigh issues the title, not Alamance or Guilford County. You file the papers at a license plate agency or mail them to NCDMV. We checked an agency at 5533 W. Market St. in Greensboro, roughly 24 miles west of downtown Burlington on a map. We looked at this one, and more exist.

Your half of the title's back holds the date you sold it, an odometer figure if the car's age calls for one, the damage statement, your signature and your hand-printed name, all done while a notary watches. The buyer adds a name and address. State law treats the assignment as "executed" only when it is signed before someone authorized to give oaths. When two people own the car, each signs before the notary, and a photocopy of the second owner's ID goes along. A lost title is replaced with a notarized Form MVR-4. The form shows $25.50, and NCDMV waits 15 days after it arrives before acting. See selling with no title.

Plates, and a city in two counties

Unbolt the plates before the car leaves. Unless they are going on your next car, take them back to a plate agency, or mail them, before the insurance ends; that keeps you clear of fines. The unused part of the annual plate fee can come back to you prorated.

Burlington straddles Alamance and Guilford, and NCDMV names both among the 19 counties where renewal needs an OBD emissions check in addition to the annual safety check. A car that failed or skipped its test stays unrenewed until it passes. Selling it whole avoids that question.

Getting an offer

To start, use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Four questions: which car, rough mileage, does the engine crank, and who is the titled owner. We can load it at a carport, a body shop, or a lot near the Amtrak station. Graham is 4.6 miles away, and Greensboro is 19.9. The statewide rules are on our North Carolina page.