Selling a dead or junk car in Fairborn

Two definitions, one garage rule

Fairborn defines a problem car two ways, and the tests work differently.

Both rules also reach an unlicensed car, which the traffic code defines as one not displaying a valid registration. And both offer one way out: a completely enclosed structure, building or garage. Neither section mentions a tarp, a fence or screening as an option.

How the five days run

Section 341.12 allows an unlicensed or junk car, or any part of one, to sit on private land for five days at most, unless a completely enclosed building or garage holds it. Junk dealers, auto dealers, commercial garages and repair shops operating lawfully are exempt.

• The Police Department serves the notice on the owner or whoever has the property. The count starts the day after service.
• When nobody responsible can be located, a single newspaper notice takes the place of service, and the car has five days from publication to go.
• Removal comes next. Once the written warning's five days are over and a summons has been issued, or once the five days after publication are over, the Chief of Police or a department member the chief designates is authorized to tow it. From there the state's impound statutes, 4513.61 and 4513.62, govern notice to the owner and lienholder, reclaiming and disposal.
• Not removing it after notice is a minor misdemeanor on conviction, and every day it continues counts again.

If police impound a car, getting it back starts at the Police Department with evidence of identity and ownership, and any fines or court-set bond paid before a release form is issued.

Streets and city lots

No car may stay parked on a Fairborn street more than 48 consecutive hours; an officer may have it moved to the nearest garage or other place of safety. A car with no plates, or expired or improper ones, may not be left on any street and is subject to impound. A car tagged for a parking violation that is still in the same spot an hour or more later can be ordered into storage.

Municipal parking lots carry the same 48-hour cap, and an inoperable or unplated car may not park in one at all.

Repairs at home

Residential areas allow no overhaul, bodywork or painting of any vehicle, and no car parked in pieces or being stripped. The single exception is an occupant working on a vehicle registered to them with current plates, behind walls that hide it from the street and from next door. A dead car with lapsed tags does not fit.

The city's code-enforcement page lists "parking vehicles in the yard area" and car parts among what its officers enforce. The Property Maintenance Division keeps a 24-hour hot line, 937-318-1605. Illegally parked cars go to the police non-emergency number, 937-754-3000.

Title: Huber Heights is closer than Xenia

Fairborn is in Greene County, and Greene's title counter sits in Xenia (Suite B, 601 Ledbetter Rd.), about 9.8 miles south as the crow flies. Montgomery County's office at 6108 Chambersburg Road in Huber Heights is nearer, about 6.7 miles northwest, and Clark County's office in New Carlisle is about 10.0 miles north. Any of the three can handle an Ohio title.

Selling means signing the title's assignment of ownership while a notary watches. A missing title needs a duplicate first; see selling with no title. The plates are yours to keep: the registration ends at the sale, and the seller removes them right away. More in after you sell.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Expect a few questions: which car and what year, roughly how many miles, does it start, and is the title yours. For nearby cities, see Huber Heights and Beavercreek.