Corvallis: when a dead car becomes the council's business

Three words the livability code uses

Section 9.02.080 sorts problem cars into three kinds, and any one can be a nuisance:

• Derelict: "any used motor vehicle, trailer, or boat without a vehicle license or with an expired license"
• Neglected: a car "missing critical parts required for the normal and legal operation of the vehicle, but has all of its body parts intact, including fenders, hood, trunk, glass, and tires"
• Wrecked: one that is "dismantled or partially dismantled, or having a broken or missing window or windshield, or lacking a wheel or tire"

Neglected is the category that surprises Corvallis owners. A car can look fine from the street, every panel and window in place, and still qualify because it lacks a battery or a working drivetrain. The code also counts "vehicles parked on the property" as part of the yard it reviews.

How the council hearing works

Section 5.02.080 sets out the notice. Corvallis mails it certified "with a five (5) day return requested" 10 or more days before the hearing. The landowner listed on the county assessment roll gets a copy, and so does the car's last registered and legal owner. A letter returned undelivered pushes the hearing to a day "not less than 10 days" after the return. The Motor Vehicles Division is notified as well.

The landowner may come to the hearing (5.02.090) or mail a written statement to "deny responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land." If circumstances justify it, Council may give extra time. Should Council find the landowner did not consent to the car and never acquiesced, it "shall not assess costs" against that parcel. Otherwise it can declare the car a public nuisance, order it hauled away, and bill the parcel's owner. If the identification and license numbers are readable, the order lists them to name the car.

On city streets and lots

Corvallis's parking article, 6.10.040, defines "vehicle" to include one "whether or not the vehicle is operable or usable." It reaches cars on "any street, alley, right-of-way, parkway, off-street public parking facility, or any other property owned or controlled by the City of Corvallis" with a missing or expired registration plate or sticker. It also names a car whose "engine is partially or fully dismantled, or has no engine," or that is otherwise inoperable.

If police take a car, 6.14.080 lets its owner reclaim it at any point before the sale. Proof of ownership or right to possession goes to the Chief of Police, along with payment of the removal and storage costs.

The Circle Boulevard DMV office and your title

The DMV field office we checked is 870 NE Circle Blvd (541-757-4191), close to 2 miles northeast of central Corvallis, as the crow flies.

On the back of the Corvallis title, sign and date in the seller's spot, or put both on a bill of sale. Lenders named on the title sign to drop their claim. A Corvallis car from the 2011 model year onward, under two decades old, needs the odometer figure with both signatures. DMV's step list for sellers leaves out any notary.

If the title has gone missing, replace it first with DMV's Application for Replacement / Duplicate Title. You pay the usual title fee, which runs $101 to $192 based on fuel economy. A wrecker's bill of sale cannot take the place of a title at DMV.

Plates and the DMV2U report

Keeping the plates is optional in Corvallis. Remove them first, or they go with the car. They may only move to another car you own, and on someone else's car both registrations lapse.

File on DMV2U inside of 10 days, and make sure the report names the buyer and gives an address. Once you have done that and assigned the title, Oregon law no longer holds you to account for the buyer's parking, abandoning or driving.

Close to Corvallis

Albany is 9.8 miles away, Lebanon 18.4, Salem 27.5 and Eugene 36.3. Statewide rules: Oregon.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online and tell us what you know. That covers its year, make and model, the miles it shows now, if it runs, and any problem with the title. Pickup happens at the car, whether it's in a rental driveway, a carport or a lot the council has its eye on.