Grand Forks junk-car rules, and selling yours whole

What the city code counts

Section 13-0701 defines three terms:

• Junk includes "parts of machinery or motor vehicles" and the damaged recreational vehicles above, "whether or not the same could be put to any reasonable use."
• Junk automobiles are vehicles "not licensed for use upon the highways of the State of North Dakota for a period in excess of sixty (60) days," and, licensed or not, any vehicle "inoperative for any reason for a period in excess of sixty (60) days." Unlicensed cars that still run are excepted.
• Abandoned vehicle means one left on private property for "forty-eight (48) continuous hours or more" without permission from whoever owns or occupies the land, or for the same span once permission is withdrawn.

A parking space is not storage

The zoning chapter adds a rule many sellers miss. Under Section 18-0302, required parking or loading space "shall not be used for storage of goods or for storage of vehicles that are inoperable or for sale." Parking or storing vehicles, boats, campers and trailers in the rear yard of one- and two-family homes is limited too. That covers a dead sedan in its assigned stall, and equally a runner advertised for sale from one.

Snow emergencies, in two tiers

The superintendent of streets declares an emergency when snow, freezing rain, sleet, ice or drifts make the roads hazardous. Notice comes "by press, radio or television," and that counts as notice to you. Under Section 8-0817:

• On through streets and avenues, which are the snow emergency routes, parking is banned "for a period of forty-eight (48) hours, or during, the period of the declared emergency."
• On every other street, avenue and cul-de-sac, the ban lasts 24 hours, or the length of the emergency.
• Parking can resume on a street once it has been plowed.

Section 8-0819 adopts a city map that designates the routes.

If it quits on a snow route

Section 8-0819 says a stalled car must be "towed or pushed off the roadway of such snow emergency route into the first cross street which is not a snow emergency route." Raising the hood does not help. You may leave only long enough to reach "a nearby telephone or to a nearby garage, gasoline station or other place of assistance and return without delay." An impounded car is released only after you pay "the cost of removal and the cost of storage."

Section 8-0820 extends this to any city street: a car stalled in the traveled lanes must be moved at once, and one left there is "a public nuisance" that police or street crews can remove.

Boots and tows

A car that has been booted "may be towed and impounded," and "all towing and storage fees shall be paid prior to the release of the vehicle" (Section 8-0830). If unpaid tickets are behind the boot, our registration hold guide explains the paperwork side.

State law once a car is impounded

Chapter 23.1-15 sets the statewide steps. The government unit or tower sends certified-mail notice within 10 days. In Grand Forks, the owner or a lienholder has 30 days after getting that notice to pay and take the car back. Storage on a passenger car or light truck cannot exceed $50 a day. Under the same chapter, a car its owner voluntarily surrenders to a permitted scrap iron processor counts as an abandoned motor vehicle. Junkyard or scrap yard compares those routes.

North Dakota title and plates

The seller writes the buyer's name and the price on the title's assignment and warranty, and delivers it within 30 days of the sale. North Dakota does not require a notary for that. Missing title: notarize SFN 2888, which records why the title cannot be produced. Or apply for a duplicate on SFN 2872 for $5.00. NDDOT Motor Vehicle issues titles; its forms give 608 E Boulevard Ave, Bismarck.

Plates are removed by the seller in North Dakota. Paid months you never used turn into a credit for one replacement vehicle. Moving it costs $5, and you can't get the money back as a refund.

Nearby

Fargo lies 73.9 straight-line miles off, with West Fargo 74.0. Bismarck is 188.4 miles off.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. Send a few details about your Grand Forks car and we'll take it from there. Pickup reaches homes, shop lots and, once fees are cleared, the impound yard.