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Town guide · Pennsylvania

A dead car in Baldwin: the borough's rules and how to sell it

In Baldwin, a car with a flat-out missing wheel, a broken window or an expired inspection sticker becomes an abandoned vehicle once it has not moved for more than seven consecutive days. Section 157-2 then bans it from any street, any public property and any private lot in the borough, your own included. If that clock is already running, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits; pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Updated · 11 sources

North Zion Lutheran Church in Baldwin, a red brick church with arched windows, a wooden ramp and gray headstones on the lawn
Photo: Cbaile19 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Baldwin, the short version

Population
20,516 (Census estimate, July 1, 2025)
County
Allegheny
Abandoned-car rule
Borough Code 157-1 and 157-2
Clock for a disabled car
More than 7 consecutive days unmoved
Impound notice to owner
Within 12 hours
Emissions region
Pittsburgh Region
Title handled by
Authorized PennDOT agents
Plates
Seller keeps them

The seven-day definition

Section 157-1 lists the conditions. It covers a car "incapable of being moved under its own power or with any tire missing or without a wheel or wheels or with any window broken or missing or in a dismantled condition or without current license plates or without a current inspection sticker," that "has not been moved or used for more than seven consecutive days."

Two variations depend on the plate:

  • Current plates, broken car. The seven days start only after the Department of Police sends a registered-mail notice saying the car will be deemed abandoned "if not immediately moved."
  • Current plates and current sticker. Even a car in good shape counts as abandoned if it is "not used or moved for a period of 30 consecutive days" after that registered letter goes out.

So the registered letter is the moment to act. Selling the car before the clock runs out ends the problem.

Towing and the borough pound

Section 154-10 lets borough police remove and impound a car that violates the parking article or meets the state definition of abandoned. Only garages approved by Council resolution may tow, and each must post a bond protecting the owner against loss or damage while it holds the car. Within 12 hours, the Chief of Police tells the owner of record where the car was taken from, why it was removed and which pound has it. The towing crew also leaves a notice on the car with the plate number, the date, time and place, and the violation.

Paying the tow does not clear the ticket. The code says the charges "shall not operate to relieve the owner from liability for any fine or penalty." A payment not made "under protest" is final.

Street and lawn parking

Commercial and recreational vehicles more than 20 feet long cannot park on residential streets. Residents without a legal driveway or parking pad may apply for a permit. The council has also stated its view on parking on grass outside built parking areas: it "has many deleterious effects on the community." A dead car in the yard can also count as abandoned under Section 157-1 if it goes unmoved for more than seven consecutive days.

Paperwork in Allegheny County

Allegheny County has no title office. Every Pennsylvania title comes from the state, and the transfer happens before a PennDOT-authorized agent, meaning a notary, a tag service or a dealer. At that spot you sign, hand-print your name and enter the odometer reading. Each listed co-owner does the same. Allegheny County is in the Pittsburgh emissions region, and PennDOT's selling instructions describe no separate release-of-liability form. The plate comes home with you: hand it back to PennDOT, or spend $11.00 moving it onto another car. For a lost title, it is Form MV-38O at $72.00, or see junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Baldwin owners can call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. We can collect it from a Baldwin driveway, a permit space on the street, or a lot in Pittsburgh. For the statewide steps, see Pennsylvania.

Questions people ask

Baldwin's clock on a broken-down car: how many days?
Baldwin's Section 157-1 sets the line at over seven days in a row for a car that can't drive itself, lacks a tire or wheel, has a broken or missing window, is taken apart, or lacks current plates or a current inspection sticker. If the car still has current plates, the seven days start only when police send a registered-mail notice.
Does the rule cover my own driveway?
Section 157-2 forbids abandoned vehicles anywhere in the Borough of Baldwin, on a public street or way or on other public or private property. Private land counts.
Baldwin police towed my car. When will I hear?
Under Section 154-10, the Chief of Police gives the owner of record notice within 12 hours of the removal, naming where the car was taken from, why, and which pound holds it.
What happens to my plate when the car is sold?
It stays with you. Return it to PennDOT or put it on another vehicle for an $11.00 transfer fee.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

  1. Baldwin Borough Code 157-1, Definitions ecode360.com
  2. Baldwin Borough Code 157-1, Definitions (registered-mail start of the seven days) ecode360.com
  3. Baldwin Borough Code 157-2, Abandoned vehicles prohibited ecode360.com
  4. Baldwin Borough Code 154-10, Removal and impounding of vehicles ecode360.com
  5. Baldwin Borough Code 154-1, residential street and lawn parking ecode360.com
  6. U.S. Census Bureau, city and town population estimates 2020-2025 www2.census.gov
  7. PennDOT: Buying or selling a vehicle pa.gov
  8. PennDOT fact sheet: Buying and selling a vehicle pa.gov
  9. PennDOT Form MV-70S, fee schedule pa.gov
  10. Pennsylvania Vehicle Code Chapter 11, certificates of title and salvage legis.state.pa.us
  11. PennDOT Publication 763, emissions regions pa.gov