Junk and dead cars in Cary

Cary's two-part junk test

Section 34-226 makes it unlawful for the owner, or whoever owns or rents the land, "to leave or allow a junked motor vehicle to remain on the property."

The town's definition has two parts. First, the car "does not display a current license plate lawfully upon the vehicle." Second, it meets one of these, in the words of the town's development ordinance:

• it "is partially dismantled or wrecked"
• it "cannot be self-propelled or moved in the manner in which it was originally intended to move"
• it "is more than (5) five years old and appears to be worth less than one hundred dollars ($100)"

So a car with a current plate on it falls outside the town's definition, even if it has not run in months. Section 34-224 tells officers to weigh those terms but not to stop there.

The people who can enforce it are police officers, code enforcement officers, inspectors and other town staff the Town Manager names. If you appeal, a town employee hears it before a tow. After a tow, a county magistrate hears it.

When the seven days do not apply

Section 34-228 lets the town skip the posted week in two cases. The first is a junked car that still has a valid plate and registration, or whose owner the town knows, as long as notice follows the tow. The second is a junked car on a public street that "impedes the flow of traffic" so that it has to go right away.

Three counties, two emissions rules

Cary spreads across Wake, Durham and Chatham counties. Wake and Durham are on the state's list of 19 emissions counties. Chatham is not. The yearly safety inspection applies everywhere in North Carolina. Cars 20 years old or older skip emissions testing. If yours is stuck on a failed test, see failed inspection.

Title work from Cary

North Carolina, not the county, issues the title, and you can file at a plate agency or send it in. Two offices on NCDMV's list are a drive from town. In a straight line, Cary sits about 14 miles west of the Raleigh office at 4121 New Bern Ave. The Durham one, 4215 University Drive, Suite 8, is about 15 miles northwest.

In Cary, sign the back of the title with a notary present. A Cary seller writes every bit of known damage on Form MVR-181, called the "Damage Disclosure Statement". A car that is only going for parts can have its title junked. The title is marked JUNKED, the assignment is notarized, and no new title is issued.

Your plate stays yours

Remove it at the sale. If no other car of yours will wear it, return it to NCDMV in person or by post, and only then drop the insurance. Cary owners may get back the unused share of the plate fee. After you sell has the full list.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online with the year, make, model, mileage and title status, and tell us whether it starts. The truck goes to the car, be it on a cul-de-sac, in a garage or in an office park lot. Morrisville and Apex are next door; the state rules are on our North Carolina page.