Selling a dead or junk car in Longview

The test in Sec. 49-52

Longview's junked vehicle is a self-propelled car whose plate has expired or gone missing and whose inspection certificate is not valid. On top of that it is wrecked, discarded or dismantled, or has gone without running too long. The code spells the limit out: "inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than 72 consecutive hours if the vehicle is on public property; or inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than 30 consecutive days if the vehicle is on private property."

Longview makes it unlawful to keep such a car in view of a street, right-of-way or other public place. Being visible makes it a public nuisance. Visibility is what decides it. The single exception the section writes out covers a collector's antique or special-interest car hidden by a fence, trees, shrubs or other screening.

Notice from the police chief

For a car on private property in Longview, the Chief of Police or an agent sends "not less than ten days written notice" by certified or registered mail. Longview's letter reaches the registered owner, every lienholder, the lot's owner, and anyone who lives there. Ten days after it, the car has to be off the lot. A Longview hearing request has to go in within that ten-day window.

A car on public land or a right-of-way gets the same ten-day letter, addressed to whoever owns or occupies the public premises or the land beside the right-of-way.

The City Manager's hearing

Sec. 49-52(g) gives anyone who asks in writing a public hearing "before the City Manager or his/her duly authorized agent, not earlier than the eleventh day after service of notice." Longview presumes the car is dead; the owner has to show it is not.

After that hearing, or once ten days pass with no request, the City Manager may order the car removed. Police then haul it to a scrap yard, a demolisher or some other site of the city's choosing. Nobody may ever rebuild a car removed this way, and within five days the police report it to the state highway department. If the car stays and no hearing is asked for, a municipal court complaint is also possible.

Moving the car resets nothing. Subsection (q) says a relocation "has no effect on the proceeding if the junked vehicle constitutes a public nuisance at the new location."

A car left on someone else's land

The next section covers the reverse situation. Sec. 49-53 says a junked car left "on the private property of another, without such person's permission for a period of 60 days or longer" is prima facie evidence that its owner abandoned it. If the dead car is sitting at a cousin's house or a repair shop, that clock is running.

Street tows

Sec. 97-127 lets police tow from a street when a car is left unattended and parked illegally so that it blocks traffic, sits in a tow-away zone the Chief of Police has marked, or blocks street sweeping or city water and sewer work. If the registration names an owner, the officer must send word in writing right away, giving the reason and where the car went. The owner pays reasonable towing and storage "in addition to the fine, if any." See towed or impounded.

Police take non-emergency calls at 903-237-1199, at the station on 518 W. South St. Code Compliance, 410 S. High St., 903-237-2760, is open Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.; its officers cover assigned districts and act on complaints.

Two counties, two tax offices

Longview straddles Gregg and Harrison counties. Straight-line distances from downtown, as the crow flies:

• Gregg County, 100 E Methvin, Suite 110, (903) 236-8417, roughly 2 miles southeast
• Harrison County, 200 W Houston, Room 108, Marshall, (903) 935-8411, roughly 23 miles east

Your buyer takes the title application to the county. Your own list is short:

• Sign over the title, writing in the date sold and the mileage.
• Sign Form 130-U, entering the price paid.
• No notary is involved.
• Within 30 days, file the Vehicle Transfer Notification. Longview sellers can do it online at TxDMV.gov/VTN; VTR-346 is the paper route. Filed on time, it means the buyer's parking tickets and toll bills are not your problem.
• Pull your plates. Moving them to a same-class replacement at the Gregg or Harrison office is free, and you get a new sticker.

Missing title? Form VTR-34 requests a certified copy, and every owner on record signs it. If a lender still holds a lien, read still owe on the loan first.

Towns near Longview

Marshall is 23.8 miles east, Tyler 34.8, Nacogdoches 63.1 and Texarkana 75.2. State-level rules are on the Texas page.

Getting an offer

Get an offer online or call (877) 421-6008. Tell us which car you have in Longview and about how many miles are on it. Say if the engine cranks, list any missing parts, and tell us if it is parked at your home or on another person's property. The truck meets it there.