Selling a dead or junk car in Middletown

If acting means getting rid of it, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits; pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Seven days, and what the card means

Section 452.16 bars storing or parking an unlicensed or inoperable car anywhere in the city for longer than seven days, unless it is in a garage or out of view of homes, streets, alleys and other public places.

• Inoperable: "missing wheels, tires, windshield, motor or transmission," or "so damaged as to appear not safely operable." A car parked at or near one spot for over 30 consecutive days is presumed inoperable.
• Unlicensed: no current plate and sticker.
• Out of view: hidden by buildings, fences, plants, terrain or another solid obstruction. A tarp does not count.

The card gives three choices: remove the car, bring it into compliance, or file a written objection with the Chief of Police. With none of the three done in seven days, the car is conclusively a public nuisance and the city may remove it immediately. Any towing or impound cost is the owner's.

Penalties climb fast. The first conviction is a minor misdemeanor. A second inside twelve months moves up to fourth degree. A third inside two years is first degree, carrying a fine of at least $500 and at least 30 days in jail. The section also appears on the city's civil-offense list, which Middletown offers as an alternative to criminal prosecution.

The junk-vehicle section has its own numbers

Section 660.07 is a second, separate rule. Its junk motor vehicle has three or more years on it, heavy damage and no sign it can run, it is worth $400 or less, and it is "left uncovered in the open on private property for more than 72 hours." Ohio's own junk-vehicle definition uses $1,500. A car with no current plates is a nonoperating vehicle. So is one partly taken apart, if it also fails state safety standards and cannot move under its own power. One not moved in thirty days is presumed unable to move itself.

Here the Chief of Police may send a certified letter. The owner then gets ten days, and the car must be "housed in a garage or other suitable structure" or "removed from the property." Every 30 days it remains out in the open after that is another offense. Loose auto parts and tires, new or used, have to stay inside an enclosed structure too, under Section 660.075.

On the street

Section 452.05 lets police order into storage a car that has stood 48 hours or longer on a public street in Middletown while nobody has told the Police Chief why. Section 404.05 adds cars that unreasonably hold up street sweeping or plowing. Getting one back starts at the Police Department: establish identity and ownership, settle the fines or post bond, and a release form follows.

Code Enforcement takes complaints through its online portal, or anonymously by phone at 513-425-7938. Its yard tips list junk cars among the things to keep out of a neat yard. The dispatch center is 513-425-7700.

Title offices in two counties

Middletown straddles Butler and Warren counties. Either county works, since Ohio lets a seller use whichever county's title office is closest. Straight-line distances from the middle of Middletown, as the crow flies:

Whichever you pick, the seller signs the title assignment before a notary. Then the plates come off; under Ohio law they belong to you, not to the car or its buyer.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, say what the car is, the rough mileage, whether it fires up, and whose name is on the title. If there is a card on the windshield, mention it. Hamilton, Fairfield and Mason are close by, and the town is part of the Cincinnati metro area.