Selling a dead car in Fairfield, Ohio

So the choices are a garage, a repair, or a buyer. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

The ten-day letter

Section 303.10 is the code section behind the junk-car notice. It borrows Ohio's four junk tests: three or more years old, heavily damaged, apparently dead, and worth $1,500 at most. Such a car "left uncovered in the open on private property for more than seventy-two hours with the permission" of the person who controls the land can draw a certified letter, return receipt requested.

Who can send it: "Council, the chief of a law enforcement agency, a state highway patrol trooper or the Municipal Zoning Authority." Once it is in your hands, the clock is ten days, and the car must be "housed in a garage or other suitable structure" or "removed from the property."

• Ignoring the letter past day ten is a minor misdemeanor.
• Another offense accrues with every further 30 days.
• Collector's vehicles may stay, but one without plates stored outdoors has to be hidden by buildings, fences, plants or the lay of the land.

The Building and Zoning division handles property maintenance, at 513-867-5318.

Abandoned cars and tows from someone else's lot

Section 303.09 calls a car abandoned on its face in two situations: more than 72 hours parked on land that isn't yours, with no permission, or 48-plus hours at the curb of a public street without anyone telling police the reason. Either is a minor misdemeanor, and Fairfield also charges what it spent disposing of the car, minus whatever the disposal brought in.

Residential lots get a faster route. On a complaint from someone affected, Section 303.081 permits a tow once a car has spent four hours on the lot without the owner's okay, and the tow company must have the car at the chief's chosen location within two hours. Owners can take their personal items out without paying to release the car, though an after-hours fee may apply.

Section 303.08 also covers a car that unreasonably blocks street sweeping or plowing. Impounded cars come back only after the owner, in person at the police offices, proves identity and ownership and pays the fines or posts bond; then the release form is issued. The police department's main number is 513-829-8201.

Title offices on both sides of the county line

Fairfield lies in Butler County and Hamilton County, and sellers here can use either county's Clerk of Courts title office, or one farther afield; Ohio allows any county's. These are the closest, measured from the center of Fairfield as the crow flies:

• 530 Wessel Dr., Suite H (Fairfield Center), Butler County: about 1.2 miles west, (513) 737-7308.
• 10964 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati, Hamilton County: about 3.9 miles south, (513) 946-8161.
• 4872 Union Centre Pavillion Dr., Westchester, Butler County: about 4.5 miles east, (513) 860-9702.
• 315 High St., 5th floor, Hamilton, Butler County: about 4.8 miles north, (513) 887-3092.

Ohio sellers sign over the title with a notary looking on. Before the truck leaves, take your plates off. The sale ends the car's registration, and the state puts that job on the old owner.

Getting an offer

Fill in the basics online or over the phone at (877) 421-6008: the car's year and model, about how far it has been driven, whether the engine starts, and the state of the title. If the title still names a relative who has died, read car not in your name first. Neighbors Hamilton, Middletown and Mason each set their own rules.