Selling a dead car in Waxhaw

The normal route: seven days' notice

Absent an emergency, Section 50-6 puts notice first. Where the owner can be traced, a letter goes out by first class mail. Otherwise a windshield notice sets a removal date "no sooner than seven days after the notice is affixed." An owner who disputes the finding may file an appeal rather than move the car.

Section 50-2 gives street and town-property cases to police officers, and private-land cases to "The code enforcement officer." Under Section 50-12, the town will not take a car off private land "without a written request of the owner, occupant or lessee, except in those cases where a vehicle is a nuisance vehicle or is a junked motor vehicle which has been ordered removed by the code enforcement officer."

One junked car, and only out back

Section 50-5 states: "It shall be unlawful to have more than one junked motor vehicle, as defined herein, on the premises of public or private property." The single permitted car "can be located in the rear yard ... if the junked motor vehicle is entirely concealed from public view from a public street and from abutting premises by an acceptable covering." Any extra one needs four walls and a roof. Before ordering a removal, the code enforcement officer must put in writing that clearing the car helps the street's appearance more than it burdens the owner.

Downtown parking limits

Section 66-23 lists streets near the center of town with no Waxhaw Downtown Park or event parking, among them Brevard, College and Givens streets. The same table bans overnight vehicle or trailer parking where that rule applies, though the parks and recreation director may authorize overnight parking during special events. A car that will not start is a poor fit for a street spot near the historic district.

If it is already in storage

Section 50-10 lets an owner reclaim the car at any stage "by paying the towing fee, including any storage charges, or by posting a bond for double the amount of the fees and charges." Section 50-15 bars removal from the storage lot "unless and until all towing and impoundment fees which are due, or bond in lieu of the fees, have been paid." See towed or impounded.

Title and plates from Union County

NCDMV, not Union County, issues North Carolina titles, working through plate agencies and the mail. Of the three offices we checked for Waxhaw, the Charlotte one at 3250 Wilkinson Blvd., Suite G, is about 22 miles northwest of downtown Waxhaw as the crow flies. Concord (929 Concord Parkway S., Suite D) lies about 32 miles north, and Gastonia (246 N. New Hope Road, Suite 239) about 32 miles northwest.

A notary has to witness the seller's signature on the title. Two names on the title means two notarized signatures, and a copy of the co-owner's license or ID goes in too. Tags stay with you; turn them in before the insurance lapses and NCDMV may refund the unused part of the plate fee. Union County also requires an emissions test on top of the yearly safety inspection, so a parked car keeps costing money. See selling as is.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or use the form, giving the year, make, model, miles, title situation, and whether the engine runs. We can collect from a backyard near the historic district, a garage, or a driveway on a side street. Indian Trail is 10.4 miles away and Monroe 11.0; state rules sit on the North Carolina page.