New Castle junk cars: selling one whole

What the city counts as abandoned

Section 1322.01 describes the car in question as one "which is inoperative or unable to meet the vehicle registration and inspection standards under the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code." Crash damage is not required. Lapsed registration or a failed inspection can be enough.

The city's separate abandoned-vehicle chapter adds two exceptions of its own. A car "stored in a garage or fully enclosed structure" does not count. Neither does a car "currently undergoing repairs or renovations" expected to bring it back into shape "within a period of 30 days or less."

Two notices, two clocks

The city official handling enforcement posts a notice "in a conspicuous place on the vehicle" with a removal date and time. That deadline "will not be less than 24 hours following the posting of the notice." If the car is still there, it is "removed by a towing service to a storage area designated by the New Castle City Police Department and will be subject to disposal in accordance with law."

The owner is also told, "by certified mail to the last known address of the owner, or by personal notice," that the car must be removed "within five days from the date of mailing or notice." A car left in a private alley or right-of-way where it blocks traffic, or draws a complaint from someone with a right to pass, can be handled the same way.

The cost of waiting

Cars impounded and kept on city-owned property are "subject to storage fees of $100 per day, including partial days," unless City Council sets another fee by resolution. The owner pays before the car is released. A week on the lot adds up fast. If it has already happened, see towed or impounded.

Where junk cars may sit

Yards that do this as a business follow their own rules. Junkyards, scrap yards and auto wrecking must be "completely screened from roads or developed areas with a solid fence or wall eight feet or more in height." A person already using land for junk storage, with a vested right to it, may ask Council for a special permit to move that use to a Heavy Industrial District. Junkyard or scrap yard explains the difference.

Inspection in Lawrence County

Lawrence County is not one of the 25 counties with emissions testing. Instead, the yearly safety inspection includes a look for emissions tampering.

Title and plates

Titles are a state job, not a Lawrence County one. The sale is handled in front of a PennDOT agent, like a dealer, notary or tag service. Your signature, printed name and odometer figure go on in front of the agent, then the buyer's. Joint owners all sign. A scrap metal processor or salvage dealer can take the title with no notary. Replacing a lost one means Form MV-38O and $72.00.

The plate is yours to keep. PennDOT accepts it back, or $11.00 moves it to another car.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or ask online, car by car: what it is, rough miles, running or not, and whose name the title carries. Trucks pick up from a city curb, a back lot or a garage bay. The closest towns we cover are all more than 40 miles off: Pittsburgh at 43.0 miles as the crow flies, Penn Hills at 44.8. The Pennsylvania page has the statewide rules.