Selling a junk or dead car in Arlington

That second test is the one a stalled project car runs into. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, stands and all, and pickup is free anywhere in the US. You sell the whole car as it sits.

Junked versus nuisance, side by side

Section 6.03 sets out both categories, adopted under home-rule authority and Transportation Code chapter 683, subchapter E.

Keeping either kind is an offense. On the criminal side, Arlington treats it as a misdemeanor, fines it up to $200 per offense, counts every day as a fresh offense, and has the court order the nuisance removed. A car or part kept wholly inside a building, unseen from the street and from other lots, is excepted.

Notice, hearing and what comes after

Arlington staff give ten days of notice or more, handed over in person or mailed, certified or with signature confirmation. It is addressed to the registered owner, each Arlington lienholder, and the person living on or owning the property. Within those ten days the car must go, and any hearing request must be made.

• Hearing. The owner, a lienholder, the occupant or the police can ask for one. It can't happen before the 11th day after notice, and it is up to the owner to prove the car actually runs.
• Citation. If the car is still there and nobody asked for a hearing, Arlington may cite the owner and file a complaint with the municipal court.
• Moving it. Relocating the vehicle elsewhere in the city after the process starts has no effect on the case.
• Removal. A car the city tows away is sent off as scrap or salvage, and it can never again be rebuilt or made to run. Within five days Arlington must notify the state, which cancels the car's title when the notice comes in.

That last step is worth noticing. Once the city removes the car, the title is cancelled, and there is nothing left to sell.

Code Compliance answers at 817-459-6777, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The police non-emergency number is 817-274-4444.

Street parking and the for-sale sign

Three street rules apply to a dead or unregistered car:

• 24 hours. A vehicle may not stand on any street or alley longer than 24 hours unless signs say otherwise, under an ordinance passed 27 September 2022. The court's civil list carries it as a $28 offense, code 5012.
• Plate and inspection. A vehicle without both a valid plate and a valid inspection certificate may not be parked on a public street or alley.
• For-sale signs. An Arlington car wearing a for-sale sign, parked where it isn't allowed and in public view, is itself a public nuisance, with a fine that can reach $500. Selling it off the curb has its own risk.

Under civil parking enforcement, the city may impound an unlawfully parked car once the offender has three or more parking or stopping offenses in a calendar year.

Tarrant County title work

Arlington titles go through Tarrant County. The county's tax office (Fort Worth, 100 E Weatherford St; phone (817) 884-1100) is about 13 miles west of central Arlington as the crow flies.

The buyer files there. You supply the Arlington title, signed, with the sale date and mileage, along with Form 130-U, signed and showing your price. Texas needs no notary. Before the sale is a month old (30 days), file the transfer notice with TxDMV on the web or with paper VTR-346. The county office moves your plates to a replacement vehicle of that class free of charge.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Tell us the Arlington car's year and make, its model and miles, what the title shows, and whether it sits on stands or is short a wheel. Weighing a part-out first? Read part it out or sell it whole. For an engine that let go, see blown engine. Grand Prairie is 6.2 miles away; statewide rules are on Texas.