Selling a dead or junk car in Green

Three of seven tests

Seven conditions appear in section 97.06, and a car meeting any three counts as junk. Among them:

• it is three years old or older
• it is apparently not operable; the code's test is whether it can be "started and driven under its own power to the nearest service station"
• it is worth $1,500 or less at fair market value
• it lacks valid current registration and license tags
• it lacks a fully inflated tire

Notice what that allows. A car that starts fine can still qualify if it is old enough, the tags lapsed and a tire went soft.

The rule bites after 72 hours of a junk car sitting uncovered outdoors on private land, owner's okay or not. "In the open" means anywhere not enclosed in a building or garage.

From notice to removal

Law enforcement, City Council or the zoning authority may send the notice by certified mail, express or overnight mail with return receipt, or by hand. It gives ten days from receipt, and by then the car "either shall be covered by being housed in a garage or other suitable structure, or shall be removed from the property."

Past those ten days, the code presumes the failure was willful and starts a fresh count every 30 days. One prior conviction lifts the charge from a minor misdemeanor to fourth degree; two or more lift it to third degree. If the car still isn't moved, law enforcement has a salvage service take it to a designated facility, and the Director of Finance mails the property owner an invoice for the costs and the $100 charge.

Junk and inoperable vehicles are among the zoning violations the city's Zoning Division handles. Its number is 330-896-6605.

The Sheriff in Green's traffic code

Green's traffic code names the County Sheriff in its abandoned-car rule. Section 76.14 makes it an offense to abandon a junk car on someone's land for over 72 hours without their say-so, or to leave one 48 hours or more on a public road or right-of-way without informing the Sheriff. The Sheriff can order such a car into storage, or store it at once if it blocks traffic. Section 70.13 separately allows impounding a car parked on private land, unwelcome, for longer than 72 hours in a row. Getting it back means proof of identity and ownership at the law enforcement offices, the fines or a court bond, then the pound's towage and storage charges.

Snow has its own rule. Once U.S. Weather Bureau records show two inches have fallen and more is likely, no car may be parked on public streets, and officers may have violators removed. It is a minor misdemeanor, and a towed car comes back only after the towing charges are paid.

Inside city limits or not

Six post offices serve Green, and parts of six ZIP codes lie inside the city: Akron 44312 and 44319, Clinton 44216, Green 44232, North Canton 44720 and Uniontown 44685. A mailing address alone doesn't settle which rules apply. The city sends people to the Ohio Department of Taxation's lookup tool.

A title office in town

There is a Summit County title office at 3333 Massillon Rd., Suite 105, about 1.2 miles north of Green's center as the crow flies, phone (330) 899-9699. Ohio accepts any county's office, and Stark County's at 3179 Whitewood St. NW in North Canton is about 4.9 miles southeast.

In Ohio a notary witnesses the seller signing the title. An electronic title is handled on form BMV 3770 instead of a paper title. Pull the plates before the car leaves; the registration ends at the sale. If the title is missing, see junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Online, or by phone at (877) 421-6008: we need the car's year, make, model and mileage, plus whether the car runs at all. Pickup is free in Akron and Barberton too.