Selling a junk or dead car in Mount Juliet

What the code calls a junk vehicle

A junk vehicle here is one "of any age" that is damaged or defective in a way that makes it inoperable or unsafe to drive. The first example is a car "missing or partially or totally disassembled parts essential to the starting or running of the vehicle," and the list names the starter, alternator, battery, gas tank, fuel injection, spark plugs and radiator. Section 8-52 adds the setting around the car: "the vegetation that has grown up around, in or through the vehicle," pools of water collecting inside it, and garbage or debris piled nearby.

You can work on a car as long as it's done inside. Mount Juliet limits heavy work, such as an overhaul or body repair, to "inside a structure of similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes."

Twenty days, then city court

Once a code official orders a junked or disabled car removed, Section 8-52 makes it unlawful to miss the deadline: the notice includes "a correction order allowing 20 days time to remove the junked or disabled vehicle." If the car is still there, "the code officer shall issue a citation for the accused violator to appear in city court to answer the charges."

The land development code closes another route. Outdoor storage rules are not to be read "to permit the storage of partially dismantled, wrecked, or inoperable vehicles," and the parking-and-storage use category excludes "the storage of junk or scrap or inoperative vehicles of any type."

On the street: 72 hours

Section 28-223 lets police impound an illegally parked or abandoned car. A car "left parked on any street or alley for more than 72 consecutive hours" without the police chief's okay is treated as abandoned when a reasonable search turns up no owner. The city charges a $25.00 impound fee, all wrecker charges, and $10.00 a day if the city stores it; a private lot sets its own storage charge. See towed or impounded.

Title and plates

A Mount Juliet buyer titles the car through the Wilson County clerk. Sign and print on the back of the Mount Juliet title, exactly as your name reads up front. Tennessee has no notary rule. When "and" links the two names on the front, you each sign. Then take your plate. It stays with the owner in Tennessee, and a $1 transfer puts it on your next vehicle. Missing the title? A duplicate is $14 plus any county fees; see junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Got a notice on a Mount Juliet car? Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form and mention it. Our driver can get it from your driveway, a shop, or over in Lebanon, 9.2 miles off. See the Tennessee page for rules across the state.