Port Arthur: selling a dead or junk car

If you are ready to let it go, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits. We offer free pickup anywhere in the US, Port Arthur included.

Junked, by Port Arthur's definition

The city's article is adopted under Texas Transportation Code chapter 683. A junked vehicle lacks a valid license plate and is a wreck, partly or fully dismantled, or discarded, or else has been inoperable past Port Arthur's limits of 72 straight hours on public ground and 30 straight days on private ground.

Under Section 34-144 it is an offense to own, park or allow a junked vehicle in view of a public place, a right-of-way, or the lot next door. The fine runs up to $500, with minimums per junked vehicle of $100 for a first conviction, $250 for a second and $350 for a third or later. Each day is a separate offense.

Two exceptions exist. First, a car kept lawfully inside a building, out of every passerby's view. Second, an unlicensed antique or special interest car belonging to a collector that poses no health hazard and stays screened.

Ten days, then court or a citation

Section 34-146 calls for "not less than ten days' notice." It tells the owner to clear the nuisance by the tenth day after delivery or mailing, and to ask for any hearing before that date. Port Arthur delivers it by hand, or by certified mail (five-day return), and three parties get a copy: whoever is registered as the owner, each lienholder, and the Port Arthur property's owner or occupant.

A municipal court judge hears the case, never sooner than day 11, and "the vehicle ... is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable." If the owner neither asks for a hearing nor moves the car, Port Arthur may issue a citation, then file a complaint with the municipal court. Once a car is gone, Port Arthur has five days to report it to the state, which then cancels the title; rebuilding is banned. From there it goes to a demolisher, a scrapyard or a scrap site the city runs.

The city's Spring 2026 code guide repeats the message for homeowners: do not allow junked, wrecked, inoperative or unlicensed vehicles on your property. It adds that the city may abate a violation and recover its costs.

Yards are for driveways

Section 106-255 makes it unlawful to park in the required front or side yard of any residential district, "except upon a private driveway providing access to a garage, carport or parking space." A code enforcement officer hand-delivers a notice of violation first. After that, the fine is $100, and each day is a separate violation.

Questions go to Code Compliance, 300 4th Street, Suite 700, at 409-983-8250. The police non-emergency number is 409-983-8600.

Two counties, two tax offices

Port Arthur lies in both Jefferson and Orange counties. The Orange County tax office is at 123 S. 6th St. in Orange, phone (409) 882-7971, 16 miles northeast of central Port Arthur, as the crow flies. Jefferson County's is at 1149 Pearl St in Beaumont, phone (409) 835-8516, about 17 miles northwest.

The buyer, not you, files the title there. The buyer has 30 days, under TxDMV rules, to retitle the car in their name. Miss that, and the old owner may end up answering for the car's tickets, tolls, even crimes. Hence the Vehicle Transfer Notification: send it inside the same 30 days, on the web or by Form VTR-346, and write down how to reach the buyer, when you sold, and the VIN.

The plates come off if you want them, with the sticker. Plates you keep may move to a replacement in the same vehicle class; plates you will not use must be defaced before disposal. More in after you sell.

How to start

Give us the basics online or at (877) 421-6008: what the car is, how many miles, if it starts, and where the title stands. Our truck can load the car from a backyard, a driveway or a repair lot. Beaumont is the nearest larger city; Texas covers the statewide rules.