Selling a dead or junk car in Jenks

The 168-hour notice

"The chief of police, or any officer of that department he may assign," posts the notice, on "complaint of any citizen or on the officer's own volition." It says the vehicle is a nuisance and must be removed within 168 hours.

The duty falls on the vehicle's owner and on the owner, lessee or person in control of the land. The fix is removal, or housing the car in a building "where it will not be visible from the street or other private property."

After the 168 hours pass, the chief "shall promptly cause the vehicle and/or its parts to be removed and stored." When no owner turns up "with reasonable diligence," or the car is in a public right-of-way, the chief can have it hauled off as soon as the notice is posted. Failing to comply is an offense.

Getting it back, or losing it

A car removed under 13-2-1 can be reclaimed by applying to the chief of police "within one month after its removal" and paying the costs of removal and storage.

Streets have their own rules. Section 20-21-2 forbids leaving a car that is not "in proper mechanical condition to be normally operated" on any public street, alley or public property in Jenks. A vehicle seized under that article and not claimed "within 30 days" can be sold at public auction under 20-21-4. Police can also tow under 20-20-1, for instance a car left unattended on a bridge or causeway where it blocks traffic. Read towed or impounded.

How Oklahoma labels a dead car

The state's words matter for the title. Under Oklahoma law a car is junked if it meets three tests. For a Jenks owner, that means the car can't be driven on the highway, it's worth only parts or scrap metal, and it has lost 80% of its market value. Such a car may get a junked title. Salvage is a different line: a car from the last 10 model years whose safe repair would top 60% of what it was worth. Flood-damaged cars get titles stamped "Flood Damaged."

Service Oklahoma will cancel the title at no cost on a Jenks car that is done for good and only worth its parts and metal. After that the state won't title it again. See salvage title or nonrepairable or junk title.

Title and plates from Jenks

Jenks is in Tulsa County. One office we checked is at 218 W. 6th St., 8th Floor, in downtown Tulsa, phone 918-596-5071. Measured directly, it sits roughly 10 miles north of the middle of Jenks. Tag agencies licensed by Service Oklahoma are another option for title work.

Your signature on the title goes in front of a notary. The plate stays with you; forget it on the car and the buyer must remove and destroy it. After a Jenks sale, either the buyer or the seller pre-registers it within 2 business days.

Getting an offer

Fill in the details online or phone (877) 421-6008. Send the form for your Jenks car. Our truck loads it wherever it sits in town. Bixby is 6.4 miles away and Tulsa 9.8; see Oklahoma for statewide rules.