Mesquite junk-car rules, and how to sell a dead car whole

Three tests, any one of them

Section 10-165 strings its tests together with "or", so meeting one is enough: a missing unexpired plate, damage (wrecked, dismantled, discarded), or too long without running. The vehicle also has to match the state's definition. The time limit reads: "remained inoperable for more than thirty (30) consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private property, or seventy-two (72) consecutive hours if the vehicle is on public property."

The list reaches past cars. "Off-road vehicles," "race cars, dirt track vehicles, all-terrain vehicles and golf carts" can all be junked vehicles. For them, inoperable means "not usable for the vehicle's designed and intended purpose."

Visible to the public, it is already a declared nuisance. Keeping it is a Class C misdemeanor, fined at most $200. On conviction, the municipal court orders it removed.

Notice, the judge, and the cover question

Before the city acts on removal, it gives at least 10 days' notice by hand or certified mail. Those 10 days are also the window to request a municipal court hearing. The Mesquite Municipal Court Judge rules, and treats the car as dead unless the owner proves it runs.

A code officer may enter private property to examine, identify and remove the car. Relocating it within the city after the case starts "has no effect on the proceeding." After removal, rebuilding that car is off the table for good.

A tarp or car blanket is not screening. The rule does not reach a car kept wholly indoors, unseen. Dealers, junk yards and antique collectors get a pass if they keep things orderly, healthy and out of ordinary public view.

Street, yard and impound

Section 9-187 sets the limit for curbside parking: no car may stand unattended there, or in an alley or other public place, "for a continuous period of more than forty-eight (48) hours unless such vehicle shall be in currently operable condition and in a state of good repair." Police may tow a car left on a street against city rules, and the owner pays removal and storage.

Off the street, a car must rest on an improved surface unless the land is zoned industrial; a two-week permit can bridge the gap. An impounded car is redeemed by paying the impound fee and the city's expenses. Owners and lienholders are told by mail, and the car is sold 30 days after the return receipt.

Where to report

Mesquite splits reports by location. Street cases belong to the police non-emergency line (the police page lists 972-285-6336). A car in a driveway, backyard or on the grass goes to the 24-hour code hotline, 972-329-8704, or online. Reports can be anonymous.

Dallas or Kaufman County paperwork

Mesquite sits in two counties, and both still require emissions tests. Dallas County's office is in Dallas at Suite 1200, 500 Elm Street, some 13 miles west of central Mesquite as the crow flies. Kaufman County's is in the town of Kaufman, at 100 N. Washington St., some 20 miles southeast.

Without a passing emissions result already on file, the buyer will need one to register, so a copy of your latest Vehicle Inspection Report helps the buyer, if you still have one. Your own deadline is 30 days to report the sale to TxDMV (online, or paper VTR-346). That report leaves ownership untouched, yet sent in time it means the new owner's tolls and parking fines are not your problem. See after you sell and the Texas page.

Selling from Mesquite

Give us the basics at (877) 421-6008 or online: the car's year and model, its mileage, whether it will start, and the title picture. A car that has been sitting for years is fine. The truck meets it in a driveway, a backyard off Main Street, or a shop. Balch Springs, Forney and Garland are close.