Selling a junk or dead car in Raleigh

Getting a car out of a Raleigh tow lot

Section 12-7009 gives two ways out. You can pay the towing fee, "including any storage charges." Or you can post "a bond for double the amount of such fees and charges" with the tow operator holding the car.

What you cannot do is drive or haul it out first. Under Section 12-7014, nobody may take an impounded car out of a city storage lot "unless and until all towing and impoundment fees which are due, or bond in lieu of such fees, have been paid." See our towed or impounded guide for your options once a car is in a lot.

When a dead car counts as junked

The Raleigh code sections in our research deal with towing, redemption and parking. They do not include the city's own definition of a junked car, so the state law cities work from is the safest guide. Raleigh can add stricter rules of its own.

Under G.S. 160A-303, Raleigh can forbid abandoned cars on city streets and on any public or private property, and it can remove junked or abandoned ones. That law calls an abandoned car junked only when it also meets one of these:

• wrecked, or partly stripped
• unable to run on its own
• past its fifth year and valued under $100 (an ordinance can raise that to $500)
• missing a current tag

For private lots, the statute lets a city ordinance call a car abandoned after just two hours there without the landowner's say-so. Before a car is towed off private land in Raleigh, the landowner has to ask for it in writing. Raleigh skips this step when officials find the car is a health or safety threat.

Parking a car that will not start

A car that dies on a Raleigh street still has to be parked the way the code says. Where no spaces are painted, Section 11-2179 says the car "may not be farther than twelve (12) inches from the curb." It must face the direction of traffic, except on a residential street of two lanes or fewer with no marked center line.

At a meter, Section 11-2204 counts any time past the posted limit as "parking overtime," and that is a violation. A car that cannot be moved will keep running up the clock.

Two counties, one inspection rule

Raleigh spans Wake and Durham counties. Both are on North Carolina's list of 19 counties with emissions testing. Every car in the state also needs an annual safety inspection, within 90 days of renewing, before the registration can be renewed.

A lapsed tag adds a state late fee that steps up from $15 to $25 the longer it sits. A car that has sat that long is the subject of our car sitting for years guide.

Title offices we checked

North Carolina titles are issued by the state, not the county. License plate agencies process them, or you can mail the paperwork to NCDMV. Two offices on NCDMV's list:

• 4121 New Bern Ave., Raleigh: about 5 miles southeast of central Raleigh, as the crow flies
• 4215 University Drive, Suite 8, Durham: roughly 20 miles to the northwest in a straight line

Signing the title over

In Raleigh, a notary watches you sign the title's back. State law says no title passes until that assignment is signed and the car is delivered. On the back of a Raleigh title go both parties' names and addresses, the sale date, the seller's printed name, mileage when required, and the damage disclosure. With joint owners, every signature is notarized and a photocopy of the co-owner's ID goes along.

A lost title needs a duplicate first. That is Form MVR-4, which must be notarized, and NCDMV holds it for a 15-day waiting period after it arrives. The fee on the current form is $25.50. See selling with no title.

Plates come off with you

In North Carolina the plate belongs to the seller. Take it off when the car changes hands. If it isn't going onto another car of yours, return it now. Leave it at a plate agency or send it to the NCDMV unit, whose Mail Service Center address is in Raleigh itself. Turn it in first and cancel the insurance second, or fines can follow. NCDMV prorates a refund for the unused months. Should the car stay on your registration after the sale, NCDMV's notarized Form MVR-46F clears it. After you sell walks through the rest.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. Our questions cover the car (year, model, miles), if the engine catches, and which papers you have. Across Raleigh we pick up from homes, apartment lots and repair shops. Garner and Cary are each about 10 to 11 miles away, and Wake Forest about 12; for the statewide picture, see North Carolina.