Selling a dead or junk car in Bedford

Junked, abandoned, or both

Bedford's code uses two labels, and each runs on its own clock.

Junked. Section 114-316 starts with a self-propelled vehicle, or a trailer for one, that is missing an unexpired plate, or is missing a valid inspection certificate. Add one more fact: it has been wrecked, stripped or discarded, or it has gone 72 straight hours without running on public land, or a straight 30 days on a private lot. Section 114-323 makes it a public nuisance if it is "visible from a public place or public right-of-way." The fine is capped at "the maximum fine allowed by law," and "the court shall order removal and abatement of the nuisance." Under the general penalty section, each day is its own offense.

Abandoned. That label fits a car left on private land without the owner's or manager's consent, or illegally on public land, past 48 hours. An inoperable car over five years old qualifies after 48 hours left alone on public property.

A third rule sits in Section 82-6. A lot owner may not let a "worn out, wrecked, inoperative and/or abandoned automobile" stay on any premises when it offends public health, safety or "the aesthetics of the neighborhood."

The notice and the hearing

Section 114-324 requires "not less than ten days' notice." The city delivers it in person or by certified-mail delivery, five-day return requested. Recipients are the last known registered owner, every lienholder on record, and whoever owns or occupies the land under the car. If no one's address is on file, the notice may be left on the car. By the tenth day the nuisance has to be gone, and any hearing request has to arrive sooner. At a public hearing before the municipal judge, the car "is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable."

Only three things are exempt: a car fully shut inside a lawful building and hidden from everyone, dealer or junkyard stock, and a collector's antique screened from ordinary view. After removal nobody may rebuild the car or get it running again, and the state transportation department gets notice within five days.

If police already took it

When police take an abandoned car, Section 114-319 gives them ten days to mail a certified notice. Starting from that notice, the owner and lienholders get through day 20 to reclaim the car, paying the towing, preservation and storage bill. Doing nothing waives all rights and consents to a public auction. Section 126-70 lets a mortgage lienholder get the car released after paying the fees and showing its lien papers.

The police non-emergency dispatch line, 817-952-2127, is monitored around the clock. The front desk at 2121 L. Don Dodson Drive keeps weekday hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Title, plates and Tarrant County

Tarrant County's tax office handles titles. Phone (817) 884-1100, or visit 100 E Weatherford St, Fort Worth, which sits roughly 13 miles southwest of central Bedford as the crow flies.

A Texas buyer has a 30-day window to transfer the title. Until it happens, the seller can be on the hook for tickets, tolls or crimes involving the car, which is why the Vehicle Transfer Notification matters. A Texas title needs no notary. The plates are yours to keep. You can keep them, deface them before disposal, or put them on a replacement vehicle in the same classification. A plate transfer costs nothing at the county office, and you get a fresh sticker there.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Have the year, make, model and odometer reading handy, and tell us if it runs and what the title shows. A truck can pull up to a driveway off a side street or the lot of the shop holding the car. Bedford's neighbors Hurst, Colleyville and Euless have pages too, and Texas covers state rules. For a car with a dead motor, see blown engine.