Selling a dead car in Clayton

Who handles what

Section 90.01 splits the work. The Police Department handles cars abandoned on streets, highways and town property. In Clayton, abandoned, nuisance and junked cars on private property fall to the Town Manager or a designee. The town may also contract each year with private tow companies to remove, store and dispose of these vehicles.

Section 90.12 adds limits. The town generally will not tow from private land if the owner could have the car removed under state law. It will not do so at all without a written request from the owner, occupant or lessee, unless the car is a nuisance or a junked car the Town Manager has ordered removed.

The notice and when it is skipped

For a junked or nuisance car, Section 90.06 sends the notice "by first- class mail" when the owner's name and address can be found. Otherwise, Clayton sticks the notice on the windshield or another plain spot. Either way, it names a removal date "no sooner than seven days after the notice is affixed or mailed." You can appeal the finding instead of moving the car.

Section 90.07 lets the town tow without notice in a few cases. In Clayton that means a car blocking a driveway or business entrance, one that is a traffic hazard, or one damaging property.

Getting a towed car back

Under Section 90.10, the owner can reclaim the car at any stage, "including before the probable cause hearing." You pay the towing fee and storage, or post a bond for double those charges with the tow company. The same section warns that once you have it back you "shall not allow or engage in further violations." Section 90.15 bars taking it from the storage lot before the fees or bond are paid.

Title offices on both sides of town

NCDMV issues titles statewide; plate agencies and the mail both work. Two offices we checked sit at about the same distance from Clayton, as the crow flies:

• 4121 New Bern Ave., Raleigh, about 12 miles northwest
• 3175A U.S. Highway 301 S., Smithfield, about 13 miles south

In Clayton, the seller's signature on the title's back has to happen in front of a notary. A title brand like Salvage Motor Vehicle or Flood Vehicle stays with the car after the sale; see salvage title. Inherited a car still titled to someone else? Read car not in your name first.

Plates, tags and inspection

North Carolina plates stay with the seller. Return yours to NCDMV before the insurance ends, unless it moves to another car. If the tag has expired, the late fee is $15, $20 or $25, depending on how long. Clayton sits in Johnston and Wake counties, and both require emissions testing on top of the yearly safety inspection.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the details online: what the car is, its miles, the title situation and whether it starts. Pickup can be at the end of a gravel drive, in a backyard or on a downtown side street. Garner and Knightdale are the nearest towns we cover, each under 10 miles away; for the state's rules, see North Carolina.