Selling a junk or dead car in Bismarck

What we could not find for Bismarck

Bismarck's city code did not turn up when we looked. All of what follows is from the Century Code. Local ordinances on junk vehicles, street parking and snow routes could add to it. Treat this page as the state floor, and check with Bismarck itself before banking on extra days.

When North Dakota calls a car abandoned

Chapter 23.1-15 of the Century Code sets the state test. A motor vehicle counts as abandoned when any of these is true:

• it has been left unlawfully on a public street or lot past the 48-hour mark, or left there that long missing essential parts
• it sits on another person's land without their okay
• it is too far gone to have any substantial further use

A car kept in a closed garage or storage building does not count. So does being an antique automobile, a parts car or a special interest vehicle, which the chapter exempts by name.

If a Bismarck car gets towed

Any unit of government may impound an abandoned vehicle itself or hand the job to a commercial towing company. Private landowners, renters and occupants have the same option for one on their property.

After that the clocks are fixed by statute:

1. 10 days. Within that window, the agency or tow company must send certified mail to the registered owner and any lienholders.
2. 30 days. Counting from receipt of that letter, the owner can pay the hauling and storage bill and recover the car. Silence past day 30 is read as a waiver and consent to disposal.
3. $50 a day. The statute caps daily storage at that figure for passenger cars, pickups, vans and trucks registered under 20,000 lb.

In Bismarck, an unclaimed car worth more than $1,000 can be sold by the government unit at public auction after published notice, or it can get a DOT release giving a scrap iron processor sufficient title. Our towed or impounded guide covers both choices.

Signing the title over

North Dakota skips the notary on a titled car. Write the buyer's name and the agreed price into the title's assignment block, sign the warranty, and get the document into the buyer's hands inside 30 days. From there the clock is theirs: 30 days and a $5 transfer fee, or their registration may be suspended.

No title? Then NDDOT's form SFN 2888 does the job, notarized. It is part bill of sale, part sworn statement that the car is yours and lien-free, with a line explaining where the title went. If you would rather replace the title first, a duplicate costs $5.00 through the Duplicate Title box on SFN 2872, with the reason marked lost, stolen or mutilated. If the original turns up later, it has to be surrendered. More on that in selling with no title.

Titles are issued by NDDOT Motor Vehicle, whose forms give the address 608 E Boulevard Ave, Bismarck, and whose website is dot.nd.gov.

The plates stay with you

Take the plates off when the car changes hands. The months left on the registration turn into a credit, and that credit can go to one replacement vehicle only, with a $5 credit transfer fee. No refunds are paid. If you lose the plates, replacements are $5.

Damage past 75 percent of retail value

When damage passes 75 percent of the car's retail value in the NADA guide, the owner sends the title to the department within 10 days for a salvage certificate. Glass damage and hail damage do not count toward that 75 percent. See wrecked or totaled if this is your situation.

Nearby pages

Mandan is 5.7 miles from Bismarck as the crow flies and publishes its own junk-vehicle code. Dickinson is 95.9 miles away and Minot 101.1. The North Dakota page collects the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Begin simple. Tell us the car, its miles, if the engine will crank, and which papers you have. Send them through the form or ring (877) 421-6008. Our truck goes to where the car is parked, from a Bismarck driveway to a shop lot or a tow yard.