Selling a dead or wrecked car in Barberton

The 24-hour rule, section by section

Section 632.02 is the one with the clock. It applies whether or not anyone is with the car. The only ways out are a building that fully encloses the car, or a lawful business, licensed as such, that needs the car to operate. Breaking it is a misdemeanor of the third degree.

The Development Code adds zoning rules of its own. It defines an inoperable vehicle as one wrecked, dismantled or not running for more than 30 days since it arrived on the premises. A junk vehicle may be parked or stored in any district only inside an enclosed building, or as part of a repair shop, dismantler, salvage yard, dealer or similar business. Junk vehicles kept in the open there must meet the screening rules in Chapter 1220.

The Department of Planning and Community Development enforces the zoning sections of the Development Code. Reach it at 330-848-6729 or planning@cityofbarberton.com. For other city services, Barberton says an online work order is the most efficient route.

What a city tow costs here

Barberton's code puts numbers on it. Section 303.08 sets the most the Police Division and Building Department may charge to tow and store a car within three miles of the city limits:

• $115 for a tow ordered by the police or the Building Department, at any hour
• $15 a day, or any part of a day, for storage in a fenced lot
• $65 administrative fee on every tow

Those caps answer a practical question. If the car is barely worth keeping, a week in storage can add up to $105 to the tow and the fee.

Getting a car back starts at the Police Division. Show ID and something proving the car is yours, then either settle the fines or post whatever bond the court sets; that earns a release form. The car comes out once the towage and storage are paid. Releases run weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; call 330-848-6701 with questions.

A car the police chief orders into storage triggers a mailed notice. Ten days after it goes out, an unclaimed car becomes a declared nuisance and the city gets rid of it. Claiming it in time means paying the removal and storage, showing proof of ownership, and possibly a $25 processing fee.

On Barberton's streets

Section 303.09 puts a 48-hour limit on a car sitting on a public street, any lot open to public driving, or a road right-of-way, unless someone has explained the reason to the police chief. Past that, the chief can have it stored. A car blocking traffic can be stored on the spot. Section 303.08 also lets police impound a car lacking current plates, a wreck too damaged to drive safely, and one that unreasonably obstructs snow removal or street cleaning.

Title offices: the closest is in another county

Every Ohio county's Clerk of Courts runs title offices, and any county's will take your paperwork. From the middle of Barberton, the nearest is Medina County's office at 1154 Hinkle Dr., Suite B, in Wadsworth, about 7 miles northwest as the crow flies. Summit County's own offices are a little farther: 3333 Massillon Rd. in Green, about 7.7 miles east, and 1030 E. Tallmadge Ave. in Akron, about 9.3 miles northeast.

Your signature on the title must be notarized. When the car leaves, the plates stay with you: ORC 4503.12 has the registration expire with the sale and puts their removal on the seller, immediately. After you sell walks through the rest.

Getting an offer

Get one online or by calling (877) 421-6008. Say what happened to the car, whether it starts and where it is parked; a wrecked car is fine. Barberton police take calls at 330-745-2181. We also cover Akron and Green.