Selling a car that won't run in Athens

Where a non-running car may sit

Section 7.07.02 names only three places: an enclosed building or garage, a junkyard holding a license, or a towing-service yard, and the towing yard only for up to 30 days. A driveway, a backyard or a gravel pad behind the house is none of those. Section 7.07.04 puts the duty on whoever runs the property, be it the owner, a tenant, an occupant or a lessee: no unused, wrecked, partly dismantled or inoperative car may remain there, even one belonging to somebody else.

How fast it moves

• 48 hours. A car kept in violation of 7.07.02(A) is removed to a storage facility after 48 hours, on the order of the safety-service director or an agent, and released only when the towing and storage charges are paid. Each further 48 hours an unlicensed car stays is another offense.
• Five days. Under the private-property section, 7.07.04, the car goes to a pound after five days, and getting it out takes the towing and storage charges plus fines. Once you have been told to remove it, every 24-hour period it stays counts as a separate offense.

The code's own definition of a junk motor vehicle is narrower than the operating-condition rule: three years old or older, extensively damaged (a broken window or windshield, or missing tires, wheels, motor or transmission), apparently inoperable, and worth $500 or less. That $500 line is Athens's own; the state's definition uses $1,500.

Street parking and tickets

A car may not stay parked, standing or abandoned on an Athens street for more than a day. Section 7.05.03 sets the limit at a continuous 24-hour period, to stop long-term parking and storage of vehicles on city streets.

The city warns that parking fines go up substantially when a ticket isn't paid within five consecutive days. That matters later, because 7.05.13 requires the unpaid citations behind a tow to be paid, along with all towing and storage charges, before an impounded car is released. The chief of police picks the storage lot, and it must be within five miles of the city.

Unclaimed cars

A car the police impound and nobody claims for 30 days is sold to a junkyard or scrap metal processing facility, or at public auction (7.05.14). For a junk vehicle the window is ten days after notification under 7.07.03, and the city takes no responsibility for towing costs the sale does not cover. The tow itself happens at the owner's risk; Athens accepts no liability for damage the removal causes.

The city directory lists Code Enforcement under Community Development, at 28 Curran Drive, (740) 592-3306. The police non-emergency number is 740-592-3313.

Title and plates in Athens County

Athens County's title office, 936 E State St, sits about 2.0 miles east of the Census center point of Athens as the crow flies. Its number is (740) 592-3245. The next nearest county offices are much farther: Fairfield County's in Lancaster sits about 40.9 miles northwest, and Muskingum County's in Zanesville about 42.7 miles north, both measured in a straight line.

For the sale itself, Ohio requires a notary on the seller's signature in the title's assignment section. Next, unscrew the plates. Under Ohio's plate law, ORC 4503.12, a transfer voids the registration, and the original owner "immediately shall remove the license plates." Because 7.07.02 reads a plateless car as unlicensed and not running, line up the sale before you pull them.

Getting an offer

To get an offer, describe the car: its year, make and model, the mileage, whether the engine turns over, and whether its plates are still current. Do it online or call (877) 421-6008. Nearby towns are Lancaster, Zanesville and Chillicothe; the Ohio page covers the statewide rules.