Elyria: selling a car that no longer runs

A car that no longer runs doesn't have to reach that point. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, so you can sell the whole car as it sits, without pulling a part. Our pickup is free anywhere in the US, which includes every corner of Elyria.

Five days in the open

Section 521.10 lists what counts as a public nuisance in Elyria. One item is a parked car that is either unlicensed, or meets all four of these:

• three years old or older
• extensively damaged; wheels, tires, motor or transmission gone are the code's examples
• apparently inoperable
• worth $1,500 or less

Such a car turns into a nuisance after more than five days parked anywhere, public land or private, unless an enclosed garage or a screen keeps it out of sight.

A notice on the windshield

The notice to abate is handed in person to the owner, tenant or person in charge. For a car, a copy also goes on the vehicle itself, somewhere easy to see, and the posting itself is legal service on the owner and anyone holding the car. The notice gives not less than three days after you receive it to comply. Three days after service, the car is treated as stored without the property holder's permission.

The traffic code says much the same in Section 303.09. No one may leave a nuisance vehicle on private property for more than three days unless it is garaged or screened from public view. Breaking it is a minor misdemeanor. Elyria also passes along its disposal costs, net of anything it recovers.

The certified letter

For a junk car parked with the owner's permission, Section 303.10 runs on a letter instead. Any of four senders can mail it: the police chief, a patrol trooper, the city's legislative authority, or its zoning authority. Delivery starts ten days, by the end of which the car must be garaged or gone. Each additional 30 days is one more offense.

Overnight and in the snow

On posted streets, a car can't stay more than four hours straight between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

Elyria waits for more snow than Cleveland or Parma, which start at two inches. Its emergency begins at four inches or more and lasts until the Safety Service Director says plowing is done. Word goes out on the local cable channel, local papers and websites, the city website, radio, NIXLE and WENS, which the code calls the Lorain County EMS system. Parking on the designated streets (Fourth Street, West Avenue and Broad Street are three) is barred once 60 minutes or more have passed since the first announcement, until the emergency ends.

Where towed and abandoned cars go

Section 303.08 allows a police tow for a car that has sat by a public curb two full days without the Police Chief being told why, for a wreck that can no longer be driven, and for a car stuck four hours on a home's lot without the owner's consent. To get it back, go to the Division of Police with ID and proof of ownership, pay any fines or post bond, get the release form, and pay the pound operator.

In 2022 the city put salvage vehicle services out to bid. The contract covers disposing of cars declared unclaimed or abandoned junk motor vehicles under Ohio law.

The police non-emergency number is 440-323-3302.

Title work near the town center

Lorain County's title office sits at 226 Middle Ave., (440) 329-5127, roughly 0.8 miles south of Elyria's Census center in a straight line. The Lorain office at 621 Broadway is about 7.1 miles northwest, and Cuyahoga County's North Olmsted office about 10.1 miles east. Ohio doesn't tie you to your home county's office.

Ohio wants a notary to watch you sign the title over. If a car is dismantled or destroyed instead of sold, state law has each owner turn the title in to a clerk to be canceled. The plates are yours; take them off at the sale.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008, or ask online. Give us the year, make, model and miles, and say whether a notice is already on the car or in your mailbox. Tell us whether the title is in your name, too. We pick up from the driveway, the curb, or the garage.