Selling a junk or dead car in Rocky Mount

What the city calls a junked car

Section 10-177 sets three labels. A junked motor vehicle is one that "does not display a current license plate lawfully upon that vehicle" and meets one more condition. State law supplies them: wrecked or partly taken apart, not able to run on its own, or past its fifth year and worth less than $100 (an ordinance may set $500 instead). Those dollar amounts decide legal status only. They are not what anyone pays.

An abandoned vehicle is one "left upon a street or highway in violation of a law or ordinance prohibiting parking." A nuisance vehicle is one declared "a health or safety hazard, or a public nuisance."

Being junked is not by itself the offense. Section 10-181 makes it unlawful to let the car stay "after the vehicle has been ordered removed." Before that order, the enforcement officer has to find in writing that "the aesthetic benefits of removing the vehicles outweigh the burdens imposed" on the car's owner and on whoever owns or rents the land.

The notice, and your seven days to appeal

Under Section 10-182 a car "shall be towed only after notice." When Rocky Mount can identify the owner of a junked or nuisance car, a first class letter goes out. If a Rocky Mount car is left behind or nobody can track down its owner, the notice gets posted where anyone can see it, like the windshield.

The notice names a removal date "no sooner than seven (7) days after the notice is affixed or mailed." You can move the car before then and the matter ends there.

If you think the city has it wrong, the clock is the same length. The code says "Notice of appeal must be made to the community appeals board in writing seven (7) days after receipt of the notice or the affixing of the notice to the vehicle."

When the city will not tow from private land

Section 10-188 sets a general policy: the city will not tow from private property "if the owner, occupant or lessee of such property could have the vehicle removed under applicable state law procedures." Without a written request from that person, it acts only on a nuisance vehicle, or on a junked car already under an enforcement officer's removal order. A property owner seeking a city tow may be required "to indemnify the city against any loss, expense or liability."

The city may also hire private tow companies on yearly contracts to haul, store and get rid of these cars.

Title offices from Rocky Mount

North Carolina issues titles through the state, so the county line through town does not change where you go. None of the three offices we checked sits inside Rocky Mount:

• 4651 N. Creek Drive, Greenville, about 35 miles southeast of the middle of town
• Raleigh, 4121 New Bern Ave., about 44 miles west
• 3175A U.S. Highway 301 S., Smithfield, about 47 miles southwest

All distances are as the crow flies. Because every one is a long drive, mail is worth a look. NCDMV handles titles by mail as well as at license plate agencies.

Junking the title, or replacing a lost one

A North Carolina title can be junked. The word JUNKED goes on the face of the title, the owner signs a notarized assignment, and NCDMV never prints a replacement. With no title to find, the owner writes JUNKED on Form MVR-4 instead and attaches lien releases. NCDMV charges no title fee for that.

For a normal sale with a lost title, a duplicate comes first. Form MVR-4 needs a notary, shows a $25.50 fee, and sits 15 days at NCDMV before it is processed. With a co-owned car, every owner signs before a notary, and a copy of the other owner's license or ID goes along. Our no-title guide walks through it.

Plates, inspection and an expired sticker

On a sale you take the plate off. Unless it goes on another car you own, return it to NCDMV at once, either over an agency counter or by post to NCDMV's plate unit in Raleigh. Get that done while the liability policy is still in force. Details are in after you sell.

The state's 19-county emissions list leaves out Edgecombe and Nash. Rocky Mount renewals still call for the annual safety inspection. $15 is the Rocky Mount late fee for less than a month. Between one and two months it's $20, and after two months it's $25. That is one more reason a long-parked car tends to stay parked; see sitting for years.

Nearby towns

Wilson is 17.8 miles away and Greenville 35.4. Wake Forest and Knightdale are each about 40 miles off. For state rules in one place, see North Carolina.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Send the form for a Rocky Mount offer. Our truck collects from homes on both sides of the county line or from a shop lot.