Selling a dead or junk car in Hickory

How Hickory defines a junked car

Section 18-181 sets three categories. An abandoned motor vehicle includes one that "Is left on any public street or highway for longer than seven days." A junked motor vehicle is one "that does not display a current license plate" and meets further conditions in the code. A nuisance vehicle is a junked car "determined and declared to be a health or safety hazard, a public nuisance or unlawful."

The city's nuisance chapter, Section 20-2, lists "The abandonment of junked motor vehicles on public grounds and private property" among the conditions it treats as a nuisance.

What you are allowed to keep

Section 18-189 lists the exceptions. A junked car is outside the rules when it is:

• in a licensed automobile graveyard or junkyard
• in "an approved enclosed building," which the code defines as a garage or structure where the car "cannot be seen from a public street or abutting property"
• in the rear yard, if it is "A maximum of one junked motor vehicle of a singular model and year" and "entirely concealed from public view by an approved motor vehicle cover"

The cover itself is part of the rule: "The approved motor vehicle cover must remain in good repair and must not be allowed to deteriorate." A cover that has split along the roofline puts the car back in violation.

The declaration and the notice

Under Section 18-182, "the city building inspector (or other municipal official) may determine and declare that the vehicle is a health or safety hazard or a public nuisance" and order it removed. From then on, the car's owner and the land's owner, lessee or occupant are both barred from leaving it there.

Section 18-183 sets the notice. When names and addresses can be found, "the notice shall be given to both by first class mail," meaning the car's owner and the property owner. The removal date is "no sooner than seven days after the notice is affixed or mailed." An appeal "shall be made to the chief of police in writing," and without one, the city's finding "shall be considered final." The seven-day notice can be skipped where the official finds "a special need for prompt action."

If the car has already been towed

Section 18-186 lets the owner get it back "at any stage in the proceedings, including before the probable cause hearing," by covering the tow and storage bill, or "by posting a bond for double the amount of such fees and charges" with the tow company. Once the car is back, the owner "shall not engage in further violations of this article," so parking it in the same spot under the same torn cover breaks that rule.

Title offices we checked

None of Hickory's three counties issues titles; the state does, through its plate agencies. We checked three offices near Hickory. Each distance runs straight from downtown:

• 803 Conover Blvd. W., Conover: about 7 miles east
• 1402 Blowing Rock Blvd., Lenoir: about 18 miles northwest
• 603 S. College St., Morganton: about 20 miles west

The title's reverse records both parties, the sale date and mileage where needed, and North Carolina expects any damage you know about to be written up on Form MVR-181. A notary watches you sign; a co-owner goes through the same step. Lost the title while the car sat all those years? Form MVR-4 fixes that. It has to be notarized, it costs $25.50, and NCDMV holds it 15 days once it arrives.

Hickory spans three counties and the state's emissions list names none of them. To renew, you just pass the yearly safety inspection. Once a sticker lapses, you can keep driving legally up to midnight on the 15th of the next month.

Plates

Unbolt the plates on pickup day; the state treats them as yours. Plates with nowhere to go are returned at an agency or posted to NCDMV, and that comes before dropping coverage. Returned plates can earn a partial refund of the fee.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Hickory? Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. A car with a blown engine or one that has sat for years is no problem. The truck can pull it from the rear yard once the cover comes off. Statesville is 25.5 miles away and Mooresville 29.8; for statewide rules, see North Carolina.