Selling a junk or dead car in Trotwood

Forty-eight hours after the chief's notice

Section 353.03 sets the clock. Whoever is in charge of a property, whether owner, tenant, occupant or lessee, may not let a partly dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, junked or abandoned vehicle stay there more than 48 hours after getting written notice from the Chief of Police or an officer the chief designates. A vehicle inside an enclosed building is exempt.

The city's code-enforcement page puts it differently, saying inoperable vehicles on a property or the street must be removed within a 72-hour period. The ordinance says 48 hours from written notice. Plan around the shorter number.

Section 353.02 reaches further. No one may leave a partly dismantled, unlicensed, unregistered, non-operating, wrecked or junked vehicle on any street, highway or property in the city without first getting consent from the Director of Public Safety or the Chief of Police, unless the location is properly zoned for it.

Home, farm, office or shop: no outdoor storage

The zoning code names Agricultural districts alongside Residential, Office and Business ones, and treats them the same way: parking inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicles outdoors is not allowed as an accessory use in any of them, unless that district's own rules permit it. Separately, the property code makes it unlawful to use any premises for open storage of dismantled vehicles that threaten personal safety.

Streets and private lots

Section 353.02 sets the same two-day line for streets and for other people's land. Nobody may willfully leave a car sitting two straight days on Trotwood's streets or road rights-of-way without first telling the Chief of Police why, and it may not sit on somebody else's private lot that long without their consent. On a complaint, the chief can order a car into storage after only four hours on a residential lot where it was left without permission. Police can also clear a wreck that cannot run off a street.

To reclaim a towed car, visit the police offices with ID and ownership papers and settle any fines, or post the bond a judge requires. After that the pound operator, holding the release form, frees the car when its towage and storage bill is paid.

Who takes which call

Trotwood splits these jobs between two departments.

Title from Trotwood

Montgomery County's title counter nearest Trotwood is in Clayton's Randolph Plaza, 8379 N. Main St. As the crow flies it lies about 4.8 miles northeast of the Census Bureau's reference point for Trotwood; call (937) 225-4480 and use ext. 5241. Dayton's downtown counter at 451 W. Third St. is about 6.9 miles east, and the Moraine office, 5552 N. Springboro Pike, about 9.5 miles southeast.

Ohio's BMV tells sellers to fill out the ownership assignment printed on the title's reverse and get their signature notarized. An electronic title works differently: the two parties complete form BMV 3770. Unbolt the plates too. They are yours to keep, since the registration expires the moment the car is transferred. After you sell has the rest, and selling with no title covers a lost one.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or start online. Name the car and its year, read us the odometer, say whether it will start, and tell us who is listed on the title. Nearby, see Dayton and Huber Heights.