What to do with a junk car in Jacksonville

Hidden completely, or gone

Section 13-53 sets the main rule. No one may leave a junked motor vehicle on property they control "in such a manner that it is totally visible from any street and/or any adjacent property within the city." The car has to be screened completely, or removed.

The code says what screening means. The car must be inside a building, or behind one and shielded from the neighbors "by plant materials, fences, berms, or a combination thereof, with a minimum height of six (6) feet." A cover is not on that list, and neither is a short fence. The city can order a car off private land without the property owner's consent, but it must first find in writing that "the aesthetic benefits of removing the vehicle outweigh the burdens imposed on the property owner."

The 15-day letter and $50 a day

When the city finds a junked car, Section 13-54 has the administrator write to the registered owner, using the last address on the registration certificate or title NCDMV holds, or to whoever owns the land. When nobody can be traced, they tape the notice to the windshield. It orders you to screen the car or remove it "within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the letter." It names the car's location and, where removal is required, the findings behind it.

The letter also states the cost of waiting. If nothing happens in time, the city may charge "a civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day the violation continues to exist," or remove the car at your expense. It may then sell or otherwise dispose of it. See notice to remove a car.

After the city takes it

Section 13-63 has the city hold an unclaimed abandoned, junked or nuisance vehicle "for a period of at least (30) days." During that stretch, the owner can take it back with proof of ownership once removal, storage and administrative costs are paid. Sections 13-51 and 13-66 likewise let an owner redeem a removed car by covering the costs.

There is a condition many owners miss. A redeemed car may not come back to any location in the city "unless it is a licensed auto repair facility, and then only for the repair to bring the vehicle(s) up to a safe and operational standard." Paying to get it back does not mean it can go home. Unclaimed after 30 days, it may be "destroyed or sold at private sale." With the owner's consent, the city can dispose of it without any holding period. Either way, the city reports the disposal to NCDMV afterward.

Insurance settlements and branded titles

The insurance exception in Section 13-42 matters here. Under state law, a car is salvage when parts and labor to get it safe on the road would run past 75% of its fair retail market value. An insurer does not have to call it a total loss. If you want to keep it, the insurer can hand you an owner-retained salvage form. Jacksonville drivers may find a branded title or registration card, marked "Salvage Motor Vehicle," "Salvage Rebuilt Vehicle" or "Flood Vehicle." North Carolina refuses to title or register a car another state has already labeled junk. Keep the check, sell unrepaired explains how that sale works.

Title, plates and registration from Jacksonville

NCDMV issues the title, not Onslow County; a plate agency or the mail carries your paperwork to it. Both parties complete the back. The buyer gives a name and address, and you supply the sale date, a mileage figure where the law asks for one, and the damage statement before signing in a notary's presence. A title from another state follows that state's requirements.

Plates belong to the seller. Return any Jacksonville plate you won't reuse, by mail or at a plate agency, before the coverage stops. You may get part of the fee back. Onslow is outside the 19 emissions counties, but the yearly safety inspection applies everywhere. A registration left expired draws a late fee that steps up from $15 in the first month to $20 and then $25, and deployed service members are exempt from it. If orders are coming, see military deployment.

Street parking has its own rule. Section 25-116 requires cars to park between the painted lines and never stick more than sixteen feet into the street from the curb.

Nearby, and getting an offer

New Bern is 31.0 miles away, Wilmington 45.6, Goldsboro 55.5 and Greenville 59.9. Statewide rules are on North Carolina.

Jacksonville sellers can call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. Mention any lender or insurer claim on the title. The tow can come to a screened backyard, a repair shop's lot, or a parking space at an apartment complex.