Selling a junk or dead car in Charlotte

What code enforcement looks for

The city's authority comes from state law, which the code cites as the basis to "regulate and to prohibit junked motor vehicles on public grounds and on private property." When code enforcement decides whether a car is junked, it considers whether it "cannot be self-propelled or moved in the manner in which it was originally intended to move," whether it is "partially dismantled or wrecked," and whether it "does not display a current license plate." Other factors count too; that list is a starting point, not the limit.

The location rules are strict. A covered junker belongs in the rear yard, as Charlotte's zoning ordinance defines that term. Any additional car must sit in "a garage or building structure that provides a complete enclosure," so it cannot be seen from the road or the property next door.

The seven-day sticker

Charlotte delivers junked-car warnings on the car itself. Section 10-168 has a notice of violation posted on the windshield or another conspicuous spot. It names a removal date "no sooner than seven days after the notice of violation is affixed," unless the owner or legal possessor fixes the violation before then. The city can shorten that when there is "a special need for prompt action."

Section 10-101 adds a catch. Once you have ignored a notice, code enforcement "shall not be required to provide subsequent further notices" for the same violation before it acts. One sticker may be the only warning. Our notice to remove a car guide explains your options once it appears.

Getting a towed car back

Reclaiming a car under Section 10-170 means paying the city for removal and storage. Before the city takes the money, you sign a form acknowledging that the car "must be removed on the release date shown on the receipt." Miss that date and you go back to the city to pay for the extra days. You can prepay more storage days, but that payment is nonrefundable. The tow contractor releases the car when you show the paid receipt and a driver's license, registration card or proof of title.

If nobody reclaims it, Section 10-171 lets the city sell it. If no one buys it and it is worth less than the lien, the city may destroy it. You can also sign a consent form that lets code enforcement dispose of the car immediately. That ends the problem, but it also gives up whatever the car could sell for. Towed or impounded weighs paying it out against walking away.

The street is not storage

Section 14-217 treats a car "standing in one place for a continuous period of more than 72 hours" as stored on the street, which is not allowed. Parking in front of your own home is exempt only while the car wears a current plate. Once the plate is expired or gone, the 72-hour clock applies there too. Larger work vehicles have their own limits. Under Section 14-219, medium and large commercial vehicles may stop on a street only to load or unload. In the area bounded by I-277 and I-77, they cannot stop at all from 7 to 9 a.m. or 4 to 6 p.m.

Charlotte title and plate steps

NCDMV, not Mecklenburg County, issues titles. Of the plate agencies in the county, we looked up one at 3250 Wilkinson Blvd., Suite G. It sits about 4 miles west of Charlotte's center, as the crow flies, and others exist.

A Charlotte seller signs and prints their name on the back of the title while a notary watches. On a Charlotte title, that same side also holds the damage statement, the day of the sale, who bought it and their address, and the mileage if it's required. Every owner of a jointly titled car signs with a notary present. A Charlotte title can also be retired as junked. It gets stamped "JUNKED" on the front, the assignment is notarized, and NCDMV never reissues it. Still listed as the owner after the sale? NCDMV's notarized affidavit, Form MVR-46F, asks to have the car taken off your registration file.

Remove the plates and return them to a plate agency, in person or by mail, before you cancel the policy. The unused fee can be refunded pro rata. Mecklenburg requires emissions testing, though a car two decades old or more skips the OBD check. A newer car that fails cannot be renewed until it passes.

Nearby, and getting an offer

Matthews is 9.2 miles from the middle of Charlotte, Mint Hill 10.1, Huntersville 13.8 and Concord 16.8. Statewide rules are on our North Carolina page. If you have more than one car to clear, several junk cars covers that.

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the form. Start a Charlotte offer on the form. We load the car where it sits: under a tarp out back, in an apartment garage, or at a repair bay.