Selling a dead or unlicensed car in Warren

There is another way. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, so you can sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

The cars Section 351.14 covers

The section reaches two groups:

• Unlicensed cars, and their parts. None may be parked or stored on any lot or land in the city outside a fully enclosed building or garage. Dealer and junk-dealer lots are the only other exception.
• Cars that can't be driven safely. Any car, with or without plates, that cannot be run "in a reasonably safe and continuous manner" on public streets, and any junked or abandoned car that is a health or safety hazard.

Designated employees of the Engineering, Planning and Building Department or the Health Department serve the notice on the property owner or whoever is in possession. At the end of the notice period, with no appeal filed, the department can arrange removal. Appeals go through the department that sent the notice. Release and disposal of a car impounded this way follow the Section 303.08 procedure and Ohio law.

The Traffic Commissioner enforces the inoperable and junk vehicle ordinance. The Traffic Division's number is (330) 841-2507.

A 24-hour yard rule as well

Section 1337.09, on yard maintenance, bars keeping unlicensed, inoperable or dilapidated cars, or car parts, in any yard area next to a building for more than a 24-hour period.

Abandoned cars and towing

Section 303.10 targets anyone who would "willfully leave any vehicle" on private property "for more than seventy-two hours without the permission of the person having the right to the possession of the property," or keep one parked on a public street two days (48 hours) unless the chief of police knows the reason. The penalty is a fine of no more than $1,000, as much as six months in jail, or both, with no jail for a first offense. The city also charges its disposal costs, minus any money it gets from the disposal.

Section 303.08 allows a tow once a vehicle has sat on a street for 48 consecutive hours with no word to the chief, or once an abandoned junk car has spent more than 72 consecutive hours on private land. Owners reclaim a car by appearing at the police offices "to furnish satisfactory evidence of identity and ownership or right to possession," clearing any court-ordered fines or bond, and paying the towing and storage charges at the pound. Cars abandoned in the City of Warren Impound Lot are sold through GovDeals, a government auction site. Police non-emergency: (330) 394-2521.

Title paperwork

Per the BMV, Ohioans may use whichever county's title office suits them. One option is Mahoning County's office at 345 Oakhill Avenue, Suite 102, in Youngstown, about 12.8 miles southeast of the middle of Warren as the crow flies. Another is Portage County's office at 449 S. Meridian Street in Ravenna, about 23.1 miles west; call (330) 297-3450.

At the sale, a notary has to see you sign the title over. Your buyer then gets 30 days to put the title in their own name. The plates come off and go with you, because the registration ends at the transfer.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, tell us what the car is, the odometer reading, and the name printed on the title. If a notice was served, say on what day; weekends and holidays don't count against the 72 hours. The truck comes to the car. Close by: Youngstown.