Selling a junk or dead car in Pinehurst

Who enforces what

Section 90.03 splits the work. "The Police Department shall be responsible for administering the removal and disposition of vehicles determined to be 'abandoned' on the public streets and highways within the village and on property owned by the village." On private land, "The Planning and Inspections Department and Village Manager" handle "nuisance" and "junked motor vehicles." The village may also hire private tow companies case by case.

A junked motor vehicle, under Section 90.02, is one "that does not display a current license plate" and meets further conditions, starting with being "partially dismantled or wrecked."

The aesthetics finding, and the car you still drive

Before ordering a junked car off private property, Section 90.06(A) requires a written finding "that the aesthetic benefits of removing the vehicle outweigh the burdens imposed on the private property owner." The same paragraph protects working cars: "no vehicle that is used on a regular basis for business or personal use shall be removed or disposed of pursuant to this division (A)."

So a car you drive to work with an expired tag is treated differently from one that has not moved in a season. Once the order is made, though, it is unlawful for the car's owner or the land's owner, lessee or occupant "to leave or allow the vehicle to remain on the property."

How the notice reaches you

For junked and nuisance vehicles, Section 90.07 says notice "shall be given by first class mail" when the names can be found. The village looks in three places: the latest registration or title "on file with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles," the property owner "as recorded in the Moore County Registry," and the village's own records. Failing all three, or for an abandoned car, the warning is taped to the windshield instead, and the two-day count runs the same.

You can appeal, both the abandoned or nuisance finding and the aesthetics finding for a junked car.

Private property and towing

Section 90.13 says the village generally "will not remove a vehicle from private property if the owner, occupant or lessee of the property could have the vehicle removed under applicable state laws," and never without "a written request of the owner, occupant or lessee" unless it is a nuisance or an ordered-removed junked car. Anyone asking the village to haul a car must indemnify the village against the costs.

If a car has been taken, Section 90.11 lets the owner reclaim it "at any stage in the proceedings, including before the probable cause hearing," by paying the towing fee and storage, "or by posting a bond for double the amount." Section 90.16 makes it unlawful to remove it from storage before that.

Title offices we checked, and the mail option

Moore County plays no part in titles. The state runs these steps, so Pinehurst owners deal with NCDMV by mail or go in person to a plate agency. The agencies we checked sit well outside the village, in straight-line miles from central Pinehurst, as the crow flies:

• Suite 140, 3333 N. Main St., Hope Mills, about 33 miles southeast of Pinehurst
• Durham (4215 University Drive, Suite 8): about 61 miles northeast
• Smithfield (3175A U.S. Highway 301 S.): about 65 miles east

With drives like that, mailing is worth a thought. The paperwork rules do not relax by post: the reverse of the title still needs both parties' details, the sale date, mileage if required, a damage statement, and your notarized signature. A lost title is replaced through MVR-4 ($25.50, notarized), which NCDMV holds for 15 days. A car bound for the crusher can be retired on a JUNKED title instead of a fresh one.

Moore County is not on the state's emissions list, so renewal needs only the annual safety inspection.

Plates go back by mail too

The plates are the owner's to keep. Spare Pinehurst plates go to a plate agency, or by post to NCDMV's Renewal, Title and Plate Unit at the Mail Service Center in Raleigh, while your insurance is still running. You may get back some of the plate fee for the unused months. After you sell has the rest.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. In Pinehurst we collect from a village driveway, garage or repair shop lot. Sanford is 26.7 miles away and Fayetteville 29.0; for statewide rules, see North Carolina.