Selling a dead or junk car in Sidney

Two ways to be "junked"

Section 521.12 of the city code defines a junked motor vehicle in two ways:

• No valid license. Any vehicle without a proper, valid license, on private or public property, unless it is kept inside a fully enclosed building. That ground stands on its own.
• Two of three. Any vehicle that meets at least two of these: three years old or older; disabling damage, such as a missing or deflated tire or a missing wheel, transmission or motor; inoperative.

Thirty days parked in one spot is enough for the code to presume a car inoperative, so a three-year-old car left alone for a month already has two.

48 hours, then a seven-day notice

The core rule is short. Section 521.12 says: "No person shall store, park, or have any motor vehicle which is in a junked, abandoned, inoperative, dismantled or partially dismantled condition, whether attended or not, within the City, upon any public or private property, for a period of time of forty-eight hours or longer." Sidney treats such a car as a public nuisance it may abate.

When the city acts, it serves notice by any method the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure allow for a summons, and where practicable a copy is affixed, in plain sight, to the car. If nobody can be found to serve, a single notice in a daily newspaper stands in. Seven days is the compliance window, counted from service or from that newspaper notice. The notice spells out three things: removal, impounding and disposal follow those seven days; whoever controls the land and the registered owner are jointly and severally on the hook for those costs; and getting the car out of Sidney, or enclosing it in a proper structure, avoids fines and costs.

Pushing it from the driveway into the street, or anywhere else that still breaks the rule, does not satisfy the notice.

Asking for a hearing

A hearing is available if you ask for one in writing inside those seven days; the City Manager or a designee hears it. Only two issues are on the table: are you the one in charge of the land, and does the car really fit the junked or inoperative label the notice puts on it? If the violation is affirmed, or the seven days run out with nothing fixed, the car may be impounded, and Section 303.05 then governs getting it back.

Streets, parts and tires

Section 351.03 lists a public street as a forbidden place to leave a vehicle for more than 48 hours without driving and moving it, and forbids parking a vehicle without a proper license on a public street at all. Street cases belong to the Sidney police, non-emergency line 937-498-2351.

Pulled parts are junk too. The brochure says vehicle parts, tires included, may not be kept outside. Code Enforcement is at 201 West Poplar St., 937-498-8133, Rangers@sidneyoh.com, and the city takes complaints through an online form; a complaint can be anonymous, though officers cannot follow up without contact details.

Shelby County title office

Shelby County's title office is at 1000 Milligan Court, Suite 101, about 1.6 miles northeast of the center of Sidney as the crow flies; phone (937) 498-7277. Miami County's office in Troy, about 18.8 miles south, is the next closest.

Ohio requires a notarized signature from the seller on the title's assignment. After the sale, the plates are yours and come off right away, because ORC 4503.12 cancels the registration the moment ownership changes. The buyer's title application is due within 30 days; after that a $5 late fee applies.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or begin online. Give the model and year, the odometer reading, whether it runs, and whether a 521.12 notice has been served on you. Nearby: Piqua, Troy, Lima. The Ohio page has statewide rules.