Selling a junk car in Wake Forest

The state test the town uses

Under G.S. 160A-303, a junked vehicle is an abandoned one that also has one of these problems:

• crash damage, or parts pulled off
• no way to drive it under its own power
• age above five years with a value under $100, a figure a local ordinance can lift to $500
• no current plate on it

Wake Forest then has a stronger label. A nuisance vehicle is a junked car "determined and declared to be a health or safety hazard, a public nuisance and unlawful." The board of commissioners can also declare other vehicles nuisances. The code names an "authorizing official" in either the police department or planning and inspections to approve removals.

Two hours on listed streets

Section 30-117 caps parking at two hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. "upon any of the streets described in section 30-198." Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are free of it.

Heavy trucks have a rule of their own. Section 30-89 keeps big commercial vehicles off town streets except when traveling, loading and unloading, or stranded by an emergency. A breakdown gets two hours, provided the truck is not a traffic hazard. If you are dealing with a big vehicle, see junk truck or SUV.

If the town already towed it

Section 30-166 lets you reclaim the car at any stage, "including before the probable cause hearing." You pay the towing fee or post "a bond for double the amount of the towing fee" with the tow company. Hauling it out of town storage early violates Section 30-171 until the fees or bond are settled. More on that in towed or impounded.

Two counties, both test emissions

Wake Forest spans Wake and Franklin counties, and both are on North Carolina's list of emissions counties. The yearly safety inspection must be done within 90 days of renewal before the registration can be renewed.

Title and plate steps

Titles here are a state matter. Wake Forest sellers can use a plate agency or mail the work in. Roughly 12 straight-line miles to the south, Raleigh has an NCDMV office on New Bern Ave., number 4121.

Wake Forest sellers sign the title's back in front of a notary. With a spouse or partner also on the title, both signatures need the notary, and NCDMV asks for a photocopy of that person's ID.

In Wake Forest, pull your plate before the truck hauls the car away. With no other car to put it on, you send it back to NCDMV. Get it there before your coverage stops. A refund covers the unused months.

Getting an offer

For a Wake Forest offer, call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form online. Pickup works on a side street near White Street or at a house on the edge of town. Raleigh and Knightdale are the closest towns we cover; statewide rules are on the North Carolina page.