Selling a junk car in Mansfield

Junked, in Mansfield's words

Chapter 93 covers a self-propelled car that is wrecked, dismantled, partly dismantled or discarded. A car also falls in after 72 consecutive hours out of service on public land, or 30 consecutive days out of service on private land. Expired plates or none at all bring a car under the chapter too. Add the fact that it is visible from public places or rights-of-way, plus the harm tests in the code, and Mansfield has a public nuisance, which it is an offense to keep. Mansfield fines each offense up to $200, and every day it lasts is another one.

Sealed inside a building, out of view of the street and the neighbors, a car is beyond the chapter's reach.

What the notice says

Section 93.04 requires "not less than ten days notice" before anything official happens. It is mailed "by certified mail with five-day return requested" to the titled owner, any lienholder, and the lot's owner or occupant. When the car is reasonably accessible, a copy is also posted "to the front windshield." The car must be "removed and abated not later than the tenth day after the date on which the notice was mailed."

Item four deserves a slow read. Doing nothing, asking for no hearing or skipping the one you asked for "constitutes a waiver by the owner and lienholders of all right, title and interest in the vehicle." A letter that bounces back still counts as delivered, though the city waits at least 11 days from its return before acting.

Asking for a hearing

Under Section 93.05, the owner or occupant may ask the municipal court clerk to set a hearing during those ten days, "either in person or in writing and without the requirement of bond." Once asked, the city must wait for the judge's order. At the hearing, "the junked motor vehicle is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable."

Section 93.07 then says a removed car "shall not be reconstructed or made operable again." Section 93.09 shuts the obvious dodge: towing it to another Mansfield address after notice "has no effect on the proceeding" if the car remains a nuisance where it ends up.

Streets, turnpikes and tow lots

Section 71.01 bars knowingly leaving a car parked "for a period of more than 48 hours on public property." On a Texas Turnpike Authority road, the limit drops to 12 hours. Such a car is presumed abandoned, and the Chief of Police can order it removed.

Mansfield's Code Compliance staff do not handle cars on public streets or in the right-of-way. Send those to the police, or to trafficunit@mansfieldtexas.gov. For other violations, the Report a Code Violation page has an online form, and City Hall's main line is 817-276-4200.

If the car does get towed, Section 113.42 is on your side: "No impound fees or storage costs shall be charged for days on which the operator is not available for vehicle owners to redeem or claim their vehicle." A wrecker office closed on Sundays and holidays cannot bill those days. See towed or impounded.

Three counties, three tax offices

Mansfield crosses into Tarrant, Ellis and Johnson counties. Whichever office the buyer picks, the title application lands with a county tax assessor-collector. Measured as the crow flies from Mansfield's center:

• Tarrant County, Fort Worth, close to 18 miles northwest: 100 E Weatherford St, (817) 884-1100.
• Ellis County, Waxahachie, near 20 miles southeast: 302 N Monroe St, (972) 825-5150.
• Johnson County, Cleburne, about 22 miles southwest: 2 North Mill Street, (817) 558-0122.

Title notes for a wrecked car

Skip the notary; Texas does not use one here. The buyer gets your signed title, dated and showing the mileage, along with a signed 130-U that states the price. Your transfer notice is due within 30 days. A car so badly hurt that only parts or scrap value remain gets a nonrepairable vehicle title, and from then on it can be used for nothing but parts or scrap metal. See salvage title.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online with the basics: model and year, miles, whether it runs, and how the title looks. We send the truck to wherever the car is resting, be it a garage or a body shop. Nearby pages: Arlington, Cedar Hill, Grand Prairie, Midlothian, and state rules on Texas.