Selling a junk car in Lima, Ohio

If it is going to sit anyway, selling it settles the matter. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, so you sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

The five tests in Section 1806.16

A "junk motor vehicle" in Lima meets three or more of these:

"Partially dismantled" is broad. It covers a missing engine, battery or transmission; a missing door, fender or hood; missing wheels, or a car up on blocks; missing or flat tires; and a broken windshield or windows. A car with its battery pulled is on that list.

Notice, ten days, then the bill

A police officer or the city's Code Official issues the written notice, to the property owner, the car's owner, or both. It lists names and addresses, the car's make, model, plate and VIN, its condition, who is liable for costs, and the right to appeal. The section forbids letting the car stay "longer than ten days after receipt of written notice to remove the junk motor vehicle from such premises."

Three details in the section matter more than the deadline:

• Moving it isn't enough. Taking the car to another spot inside city limits that does not cure the violation does not count as compliance.
• Two people can owe the bill. Whoever controls the land and whoever holds the title are jointly and severally liable for the city's removal, storage and disposal costs, plus an administrative fee.
• Unpaid costs can land on the tax bill. If the costs go unpaid 30 days after written notice, Council can certify them to the county auditor as a special assessment on the property, or the city can sue to collect.

After the ten days, a police officer or the Code Official may remove and impound the car, photograph it, and hold it until it is claimed or disposed of under state law.

The only exemptions written into the section are junk cars kept in an enclosed building at a regularly established junk yard, and collector's vehicles that are completely concealed inside buildings or behind fences.

Appealing a notice

An appeal goes to the Board of Building Appeals within five days of service, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. It costs $25, refunded if you win. The board looks at two questions only: who controls the property or owns the car, and whether it is a junk vehicle.

Streets, snow and towing

• Snow. Within four hours after four inches or more of snow has fallen, parking is banned on the streets marked on the city's Traffic Control Map, and police can impound a car left there (Section 452.16).
• Abandoned junk cars. Section 452.05(g) covers an "abandoned junk motor vehicle" as Ohio Revised Code 4513.63 defines it. No one may willfully leave one "on private property for more than 72 hours without the permission of the person having the right to the possession of the property," or on a public street 48 hours or longer without telling the police chief why. Breaking that rule is a minor misdemeanor, and the city adds its disposal bill.
• Towing. Section 404.07 allows a tow after four consecutive hours on private residential property without permission, or after 48 consecutive hours at a public curb. Owners reclaim it at the Police Department "to furnish satisfactory evidence of identity and ownership or right to possession," then deal with any court-ordered fines or bond and the pound operator's charges.

For a problem that needs police but is not an emergency, the LPD Dispatch Center is at (419) 227-4444. Property Maintenance and Code Enforcement sits at 50 Town Square, (419) 221-5237, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The city's CONNECT LIMA app takes non-emergency reports, property code violations among them.

The Allen County title office

Allen County's title office is at 419 N. Elizabeth St., about 0.4 miles northeast of central Lima as the crow flies. Phone (419) 223-8529. The next closest offices are in other counties, both about 30 miles off: Shelby County's in Sidney, about 30.4 miles south, and Hancock County's in Findlay, about 30.7 miles northeast.

What a Lima sale needs:

1. A notary. Every Ohio seller signs the title assignment in front of one.
2. A duplicate, if the title is gone. File form BMV 3774 as a duplicate request; that signature gets notarized too. Expect $18, or $23 if Allen County's commissioners chose the higher amount.
3. The plates, removed. Ohio registration lapses with the sale, so the plates go home with you.

If a car is taken apart for parts, Ohio law has its title surrendered to a clerk of courts for cancellation. A title assigned to a salvage dealer lets the dealer handle that, marked "FOR DESTRUCTION," and after that the car may not "be used for anything except parts and scrap metal."

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online. Tell us the model year, what it shows on the odometer, whether it runs, and who holds the title. If a notice came, mention the date it arrived. We send the truck to the car's spot.