Selling a junk or dead car in Corsicana

When it is time to let the car go, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, including Navarro County.

Corsicana's definition

Under Section 7.401, an inoperative Corsicana vehicle is junked when any of these fits:

• its license plate has expired, or it has no valid inspection certificate
• it is wrecked, dismantled or discarded
• it has sat inoperable in Corsicana for over 45 days straight

Section 7.402 then says a junked vehicle on private property, public property or a right-of-way "where it is visible from a public place or public right-of way is a public nuisance." The owner or occupant "commits an offense if such person keeps, or permits the presence of" one. On conviction, the court orders it removed.

Outside the article is "a vehicle or vehicle part that is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property."

How a notice plays out

Section 7.403 has the Chief of Police or a designee give notice "by certified mail with a five (5) day return receipt requested." It goes "to the last known registered owner of the junked motor vehicle, any lienholder of record, and the owner or occupant of the private premises on which the public nuisance exists." Where the owner's address can't be found, the Corsicana notice may be posted on the car.

That notice allows ten days or more and states "that a request for a hearing must be made before expiration of the ten (10) day period." A timely request gets a hearing in municipal court before anything is removed. With no request and no cleanup, the municipal judge can sign an order letting police take the car.

Two exits are written into the code, and both count as compliance:

• Written permission. Section 7.404 counts it as compliance when the owner or occupant, inside those ten days, gives "written permission for removal of the junked motor vehicle," that settles it.
• Sign the title to the city's wrecker. A Corsicana owner holding a title with no lien may assign it to a wrecker service the city designates. The car is removed at no cost to the owner and belongs to the wrecker service.

Section 7.405 says a junked vehicle "may be disposed of by removal to a scrap-yard, demolisher or any suitable site operated by the City for processing as scrap or salvage." Once hauled off as a nuisance, Corsicana makes it unlawful to rebuild it or get it running again.

Code enforcement sits in the Community Support Department, which takes complaints and writes citations; the officer's phone is (903) 654-4995. Police non-emergency: 903-654-4900.

Street and yard rules

Corsicana gives an unattended car 48 continuous hours on a street, alley, sidewalk, park or other public spot. After that the car counts as a nuisance, and Corsicana police haul it to the pound to wait for redemption or sale.

On a residential lot, Section 12-101.01 is specific: "Front yard - all vehicles must be parked on a concrete, asphalt, brick, paved stone or gravel driveway suitable for parking." Side and rear yards allow the same surfaces or a spot behind a screening fence.

Titles at the Navarro County office

The Navarro County tax office is at 601 N. 13th Street, (903) 654-3081, less than a mile north of central Corsicana as the crow flies. The buyer's application for a new title goes in there.

As the Corsicana seller, you sign the title, filling in the date and mileage, and the buyer also gets your signed 130-U listing what they paid. Nobody needs a notary for this in Texas. If a lender still holds a lien, see still owe on the loan. A missing title is replaced through Form VTR-34, which costs $5.45 at the counter.

Inside 30 days of the sale, send TxDMV the Vehicle Transfer Notification, and the buyer's tolls and tickets stay theirs. Your plates may come off with you.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, describe the Corsicana car: its year and make, the model, how many miles, and where the title stands. Our junk car removal guide explains the pickup. Ennis is 19.4 miles away and Waxahachie 31.2; see Texas for statewide rules.