Selling a junk or dead car in Galveston

The officer's own call

The plate and clock tests are not the only route. Galveston's definition has a catch-all: "not withstanding" those tests, a car is a "junked vehicle" if a city code compliance officer finds it "constitutes a public nuisance due to the presence or threat of vandalism, health and safety violations, fire hazard, environmental hazard."

Section 23-55 makes a junked car a public nuisance when anyone on public ground or a right-of-way could spot it, and Section 23-56 makes keeping one an offense. Galveston treats a conviction as a misdemeanor with a fine capped at $200, charges each day anew, and orders the car removed. Exempt: a car kept entirely inside a building, out of view; dealer and junkyard stock; and collector antiques kept orderly and screened.

Ten days, then a citation

Section 23-58 requires "not less than ten (10) days notice," delivered personally or by certified mail, five-day return requested. Copies go to each lienholder of record, the last known registered owner, and the occupant or owner of the premises. The deadline to remove the car is the tenth day, and a hearing has to be requested before then.

In Galveston a hearing can be requested by the owner, a lienholder, the occupant, a neighbor along the right-of-way, or the police department. It can be set no sooner than the eleventh day after notice, and the code presumes the car inoperable until its owner demonstrates otherwise. If no one removes the car and no one asks for a hearing in ten days, an officer can cite the owner and file a municipal court complaint. Relocating the car within the city does not stop the case.

Once the city takes it, the car becomes scrap or salvage, handled by a scrapyard, a demolisher or the city, and can never be rebuilt. Within five days Galveston files a report with the state, which then cancels the title.

Side yards, 103rd Street and the curb

Section 34-119 sets the rule for private residential lots. Vehicles belong on a maintained side or rear yard, screened from public view with fencing or landscaping. Lots west of 103rd Street are exempt from screening. Either way, "All vehicles shall comply with all City Code and state requirements including vehicle registration, inspection, and junked vehicles."

On public streets, Galveston allows a large motor vehicle or a trailer no more than 48 hours. A car towed for illegal street parking "shall be reclaimed" within 24 hours of removal by paying the towing fee; storage charges pile on after that. For an abandoned car the city impounds, a notice is mailed within ten days. Owners get through the 20th day after it to pay towing, preservation and storage before rights are waived and the car can be auctioned. See towed or impounded.

Report abandoned vehicles to the City Marshal's Office, (409) 797-3647. The police department line is 409-765-3702.

The county office and Texas title rules

Galveston County's tax office is at 722 21st St, about 13 miles northeast of the middle of Galveston as the crow flies; phone (409) 766-2284. Filing the title application there is the buyer's job.

Galveston sellers sign the back of the title, noting the mileage and date, then add Form 130-U, signed, naming the price. Note the VIN, the date and the buyer's contact details. No notary is required in Texas. Then file TxDMV's Vehicle Transfer Notification before 30 days are up. Take the plates and the sticker home if you want them. Plates can move free onto another vehicle of that classification at the county office, or must be defaced before disposal. Form VTR-34 replaces a lost title for $5.45 in person. More in after you sell.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, share the year, make, model, whether it runs, and whose name the title carries. The truck can load from a Galveston side yard, the curb, or a repair shop. Nearby: La Marque, Texas City, and the Texas overview.