Selling a junk or dead car in Wilson

The junked-car test in Section 17-32

A junked motor vehicle in Wilson is one that "does not display a current license plate lawfully upon that vehicle" and that, for example, "is partially dismantled or wrecked." State law supplies the rest: a car that will not go under its own power, or one older than five years valued below $100 (or $500 if an ordinance chooses). Wilson uses those amounts to sort cars, not to price them.

Abandoned is separate. A car left on a public street "for longer than seven (7) days," or parked against a parking rule, qualifies.

One junked car, covered and behind the house

Section 17-35 says "It shall be unlawful to have more than one (1) junked motor vehicle" on public or private property. The single car allowed stays whole, "in its entirety," behind the house in the rear yard, hidden from the street and neighbors "by an acceptable covering." A second goes in a garage or building "that provides a complete enclosure." Once a car has been ordered removed, letting it stay is unlawful.

Before the city tows

Section 17-36 requires notice first. Wilson writes first-class to an owner it can identify. For an abandoned car, or an owner nobody can trace, a windshield notice sets a date "no sooner than seven (7) days after the notice is affixed or mailed." Moving the car in time ends it. You may also appeal.

Section 17-37 waives notice for "a special need for prompt action," for example a car shutting off a home or shop entrance, or one left where it endangers traffic. Section 17-42 keeps the city off private land unless someone asks in writing, with exceptions for nuisance vehicles and junked cars the building inspector has ordered gone.

A towed car comes back under Section 17-40 when you pay the towing fee with storage, or post a bond for double. Taking it out of storage first is unlawful under Section 17-45.

Parking downtown

Section 22-121 requires cars to park parallel to the curb "and not more than twelve (12) inches therefrom," and inside marked lines where there are any. Metered spaces run on time limits, and overstaying one is a violation. A car that died at a meter downtown cannot stay there.

Title offices, all over 30 miles

We checked three offices, and none is in Wilson. Straight-line miles from downtown Wilson:

• 3175A U.S. Highway 301 S., Smithfield, about 31 miles southwest
• 4651 N. Creek Drive, Greenville, about 34 miles east
• 4121 New Bern Ave., Raleigh, about 36 miles west

NCDMV also handles titles by mail, which can save the drive.

Wilson sellers sign on the title's reverse while a notary looks on. With joint owners, each one's signature gets notarized, and a photocopy of the second owner's driver license or ID goes along. A lost title means a notarized Form MVR-4, listed at $25.50, then a 15-day hold at NCDMV. A Wilson owner junking a car with a missing title marks MVR-4 as JUNKED and attaches lien releases, and no title fee is charged. More in selling with no title.

The plate

You keep the plate. With no other car to take it, return it to NCDMV, at an agency or through the mail, while your insurance is still active. The unexpired part of the plate fee may come back to you, prorated.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or reach us online. Give the model year, make and miles, say if it will start, and tell us who the title belongs to. A car with a blown engine is fine as it is. Pickup can be from your yard or a shop. Rocky Mount, Goldsboro and Clayton have pages too, and North Carolina has the statewide rules.