Selling a junk or dead car in Memphis

If you want it gone before that happens, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Private lots: signs, permission and audits

Memphis does not let a lot owner tow on a whim. Section 6-88-15 requires a sign "not less than 18 inches by 12 inches in size, with lettering not less than one inch in height" in plain view at every entrance. Before towing without the car owner's consent, the wrecker must have "express written authorization" from the property owner, manager or designated agent.

The audit arrangement has to be on record. The filing with the permits office names the owner's agent, the wrecker company and the list of violations that will get a car towed. Wrecker operators also have to follow federal, state and local towing laws. If you rent, ask the office whether an inoperable car is on that list.

On the street: the 24-hour line

The street is not a parking place for a stalled car either. Section 11-40-11 makes it unlawful "to park, or knowingly permit, any vehicle" on a residential street "for a period of time longer than 24 hours consecutively." Police can remove a car parked in violation when it creates a traffic hazard or obstruction and impound it under Section 11-40-26.

The same section keeps heavier vehicles off residential streets. Trucks, truck trailers, tractors and buses may not be left there except while loading or unloading. Pickups with two axles, passenger vans and SUVs are excluded from that ban, but they are still held to the 24-hour rule. Recreation vehicles are not allowed on residential streets at all except while loading or unloading.

Old tickets: the boot and the tow

A car with unpaid tickets can be taken off the street. Under Section 11-40-27, an unattended car on a public street or other city property with a citation or summons "that has not been paid 60 days after final adjudication" can be towed and impounded. Instead of towing, police may boot it with a device that does no damage unless someone moves the car.

If a booted car is later towed, the owner pays towing and storage plus any forfeiture amount or bond, but not the booting fee. Police must tell the owner in writing about the unpaid tickets behind the action. If you think the tow or boot was a mistake, the city claim agent holds a hearing "within 24 hours after request" and can grant a free release or refund the fees. See tickets or registration hold.

A stolen car that came back

Recovered stolen cars have their own rule. When Memphis police impound a recovered car, the owner pays the tow fee but no storage "if he reclaims his vehicle within five days after notification of the recovery and whereabouts of the vehicle," says Section 6-88-8. After five days, storage is owed back to the first day on the lot. A recovered car is often stripped or damaged, and it can be sold whole as it is. See stolen and recovered.

What Memphis calls a junk vehicle

Memphis lists "junk motor vehicles" among the items covered by its improper-disposal section, 13-40-5. The definition covers automobiles, construction equipment, motorcycles and trucks, and a vehicle qualifies only if it "meets all of the following requirements" in that section. Read the full section for the list before deciding whether a car qualifies.

Shelby County title and plates

Memphis titles come from the Shelby County clerk, under rules from the Department of Revenue's Vehicle Services Division. No notary is needed on them. Sign and print in the assignment area of the Memphis title, spelled as it reads on the front. On a Memphis title, owners joined by "and" all have to sign.

Plates follow the owner. Pull them before pickup, and putting them on a different car costs $1. Memphis sellers have nothing to file after the sale. The Revenue Department's titling pages carry no sale notice or release.

Memphis repairs topping 75% of retail value make a wrecked car salvage. Under 10 years old, it gets a Salvage Certificate. Beyond repair, it gets a Non-repairable Certificate. Neither one can be registered. There is no fee for either certificate.

When a tow firm holds it

A private tow company that picks up a car through Tennessee's abandoned-vehicle process has 3 business days to mail a Request for Verification of Ownership. A Memphis tow yard can't charge storage past 60 days without the owner or lienholder agreeing. Memphis treats a car as abandoned once it spends 48 hours illegally parked on public property, or 48 hours on someone's private property without their OK. See towed or impounded.

Nearby towns

In a straight line, Germantown sits 10.7 miles off, Bartlett 12.0 miles and Collierville 15.9 miles. See the Tennessee page for rules that cover the whole state.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Memphis sellers can start with a quick call or the form. We haul from apartment lots, home driveways, or a tow yard holding it after a recovery.