Selling a junk or dead car in Findlay

Six ways a car turns into "junk" here

The section makes it "unlawful and a nuisance per se" to keep inoperative cars, cars unfit for further use, or automobile parts sitting on a Findlay lot. Under 521.04(c)(1), one item from this list settles it:

• no valid current registration, or no license plate
• tires short of full inflation, or the car resting on supports of any kind
• a windshield, door, motor, transmission or other major part that is badly damaged or missing
• a motor that cannot move the car under its own power
• the car is abandoned
• the car is used mainly for storage

The last item catches people off guard. A dead sedan that has become a shed for boxes or tools qualifies on that ground by itself.

No countdown for a homeowner

Section 521.04 does mention 30 and 60 days, but those windows belong to people in the auto repair business: 30 days unless a repair is underway and moving along, 60 days at the outside. For a private owner, the section sets no waiting period at all.

Complaints about junk vehicles on private lots go to the Zoning office, 318 Dorney Plaza, Room 304 (419-424-7108, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). The city says every complaint is investigated, photographed and logged, and owners hear about it by U.S. Mail, a visit from zoning staff, or both.

A junk car has no place on the street

Section 351.03 keeps a junk or inoperable car, as 521.04 defines it, out of the public right-of-way entirely. For a car at the curb, the police non-emergency line, 419-424-7150, is the right call rather than Zoning.

Section 303.09 draws the abandonment lines at 72 hours on someone's private lot, absent their consent, and 48 hours on a public street, with the street limit applying when the chief hasn't heard why the car is there. A first offense is a minor misdemeanor. Towing runs on a shorter fuse: under 303.08, police can have the car hauled off after more than 48 consecutive hours on private land, or 48 or longer on a public street, so private land gets two different numbers from the two sections.

Towed from public property

Section 303.083 gives the police chief five business days to find out who owns the car and who holds any lien. Then a certified letter goes out, and if ten days pass after mailing with no claim, Findlay treats the car as a nuisance and gets rid of it. Bringing it home takes the towing and storage bill plus a title, registration or lease agreement showing it's yours. Things left inside can be picked up free, except that an after-hours fee may apply.

Hancock County title office

Ohio titles come from the county clerks of courts, not the BMV. Hancock County's title office is at 8210 C R 140, Suite E, about 2.6 miles west of the middle of Findlay as the crow flies; the phone is (419) 424-7040. Any county's office can handle an Ohio title, so the Wood County office in Bowling Green, about 22.6 miles north, and the Allen County office in Lima, about 32.2 miles southwest, are the fallbacks.

Before the truck comes, complete the assignment on the title's reverse side and take it to a notary for your signature, as Ohio's BMV requires of every seller. Then take the plates off. ORC 4503.12 is blunt about it: a sale kills the registration, and the plates belong to you, not the buyer. Lost the title? A duplicate comes first, requested on form BMV 3774. Its price is $18, rising to $23 in any county whose commissioners opted for the higher fee. See junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or start online. Have the car's year, make, model and miles ready, and say which part of 521.04 it trips: flat tires, a missing part, lapsed tags. The car can stay where it is, fenced yard or not, until the truck comes. Nearby towns include Bowling Green, Lima and Marion, and the Ohio page has the statewide rules.