Selling a dead car in Midwest City

Section 27-61 and what it covers

The rule itself is in Section 27-61: "no junked, inoperable or currently unlicensed motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any residential premises." No car may be "in a state of major disassembly, disrepair or in the process of being scrapped or dismantled," either. The code declares a junked car, or a pile of motor vehicle parts, "on public or private property in the city" a nuisance.

Section 27-1's definition adds two details worth knowing:

• A car "elevated on blocks for a period exceeding one (1) week" counts.
• "Motor vehicle" is broad. It includes trucks, motorcycles, golf carts, go-carts, campers and recreational vehicles.

Big repairs are allowed, but only "inside a structure or similarly enclosed area" built for that work, or at a commercial shop or salvage yard in the city.

Notice, hearing and who pays

Midwest City's Section 27-66 sends the notice both to whoever owns the car and to whoever owns the land. A council hearing is theirs for the asking by "filing a written request for a hearing with the city clerk within ten (10) days of receiving the notice."

Landlords should read Section 27-65 closely. Vehicle owner and landowner are "jointly and severally responsible" for removing it. A tenant's dead car can become your problem.

Getting a removed car back

If the city removes a junked car, Section 27-72 lets the owner redeem it "prior to the sale or destruction thereof." You must show three things:

• a current license plate for the car
• "a current motor vehicle safety inspection certificate"
• payment to the city clerk of the removal, sale and storage expenses

For a car impounded for other reasons, Section 24-48 asks for the order of release plus "all impoundment costs and accrued storage charges due." For a car that barely moves, those steps can outweigh what keeping it is worth.

The registration bill on a parked car

Oklahoma bills registration every year, used or parked. A lapse means paying this year plus the year before, with a $1.00 daily late charge that stops at $100. There is one more way out for a car that won't run and only has scrap or parts value. A Midwest City owner can have Service Oklahoma cancel the title free, and after that the car can't be titled or registered again. More on this at sitting for years.

Selling: notary, plate, two-day notice

Drive about 8 miles west from central Midwest City to reach our listed Oklahoma County office. Call (405) 713-1300. Midwest City drivers go to 320 Robert S. Kerr Ave, over in Oklahoma City. A notary witnesses your title signature. Pre-registration follows within 2 business days, done by either party. Hang on to the plate: pick up another car in that registration class and Service Oklahoma will transfer it over for whatever period remains.

Next door

Del City is 3.8 miles away in a straight line, Oklahoma City 7.8, Moore 10.6 and Edmond 15.0. State rules: Oklahoma.

Getting an offer

Send the form or phone (877) 421-6008. Describe the car, give rough miles, say if a city official could get it started today, and tell us about the title. We haul from backyards with the car on blocks, from repair bays, from wherever it stopped. Fire-damaged cars too; see fire damage.