Selling a dead or junk car in Chattanooga

The 10-day notice under Section 21-152

When it appears a car is in violation, the Code Official sends written notice. The notice can go to the landowner or occupant, the car's owner, or anyone else responsible for it. The notice must say the vehicle "must be brought into compliance or moved to a place of lawful storage within ten (10) days."

Inside that same window, the property owner or occupant can give the Code Official written permission to haul the car off, at the owner's or occupant's own expense.

Let the ten days run out and you can be cited to City Court. A conviction carries a fine of up to $50 for each violation, and the code adds that "The removal of the vehicle shall be at the expense of the owner of the vehicle and/or premises."

What else Section 24-344 lets stand

Section 24-344 treats any discarded or abandoned vehicle on a lot in the city as a public nuisance, whether the lot is built on or empty. Apart from the screening rule above, it lists three exceptions:

• a car "completely enclosed within a building" so nobody on the street or nearby land can see it
• a car kept lawfully by a licensed vehicle dealer or another business that needs it to operate
• a car in a storage lot run by the city or another government

The zoning code goes further for some properties. Section 38-9 describes a rusted, wrecked or dismantled vehicle "in such a condition that it is economically infeasible to restore the vehicle to an operating condition." Section 38-42, which sets standards for particular land uses, says "No partially dismantled, wrecked, junked, or discarded vehicles may be stored outdoors on the premises."

Streets, bridges and tow charges

The street rule has no waiting period written into it. Section 24-343: "No person shall leave any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked or junked vehicle on any street, alley or highway within the city, or on any public right-of-way."

Section 24-303 lets police remove a car standing on a street in violation of the chapter, and any unattended car on a bridge, causeway, tunnel or street that blocks traffic. The owner or driver pays for the removal and the storage. To get the car out, you bring the garage a release from the police department and pay the removal, labor and storage charges. Our guide to a towed or impounded car covers what to do next.

Old tickets on a car that never moves

A dead car parked at the curb keeps collecting citations. Section 24-337 lets the Parking Authority boot or impound a vehicle with three or more parking citations that have been delinquent for more than 60 days and are not on appeal. The owner gets written notice first, either mailed to the address in state records or as a letter placed on the windshield. Release can be held until the fines, late fees and the immobilization, towing, handling and storage charges are paid. See tickets or registration hold.

Hamilton County paperwork

Tennessee has no state title counter for sellers. The Department of Revenue's Vehicle Services Division runs the system, and titles are issued through county clerks, so a Chattanooga car goes through the Hamilton County clerk.

• Signing. No notary is needed. In Chattanooga, sign and print your name under "ASSIGNMENT OF TITLE BY REGISTERED OWNER" just as it reads on the front. If the names are linked by "and" both sign; by "or", either one can.
• Plates. They follow you, not the car. They're yours to keep, and putting them on a different vehicle costs $1.
• No release form. We found nothing on the Revenue Department's title pages for a Chattanooga seller to file, release-of-liability or notice-of-sale.
• Emissions. Hamilton County stopped testing in January 2022, and no county tests now.
• Lost title. Chattanooga sellers request a copy using the "Multi-purpose, Noting of Lien, and Duplicate Title Application". It costs $14 plus any county fees, and you show that all liens are cleared. Start with junk car with no title.

Around Chattanooga

East Ridge is 4.9 miles away as the crow flies, Cleveland 22.7 and Cookeville 76.1. The Tennessee page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or ask online. Say what car it is, if it starts, and if you're the one on the title. We pick up from a fenced backyard, a curb spot with tickets stuck to the glass, or a shop lot.