Selling a dead car in San Juan

San Juan borrows the state's law

San Juan does not write its own junked-car test. It adopts the Texas Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act, chapter 683 of the Transportation Code, and authorizes its agents to carry it out. The state test is in the FAQ below.

Section 8.03.071 makes a junked vehicle, or part of one, "located in a place where it is visible from a public place or public right-of-way" a public nuisance when it hurts safety, property values or the neighborhood. Keeping one in San Juan is an offense; the most a court can fine is $200, plus an order to clear it.

The procedures do not reach a car "completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property."

Who runs it, and the timeline

The code enforcement officer and the police department administer the process. Anyone running it "may enter private property to examine a public nuisance, to obtain information to identify the nuisance, and to remove or direct the removal of the nuisance."

1. Notice. San Juan mails it certified, at least 10 days ahead, addressed to the car's owner on record, its lienholders, and the San Juan lot's owner or occupant. The nuisance "must be removed and abated not later than the 10th day after the date on which the notice was mailed."
2. Hearing. Ask before the 10 days end. Under section 8.03.076 it is held "not earlier than the 11th day after the date of the service of notice," and the San Juan board presumes the car inoperable until you show it runs.
3. Appeal. Within 15 days, to the city municipal court.
4. Removal. The city tells the state no later than the fifth day after removal. After San Juan removes a nuisance car, the code bars it from being rebuilt. San Juan disposes of it by scrapping, by sale to a demolisher, or at a municipal or county site.

If police take the car

When San Juan police hold an abandoned car, San Juan's department mails the owner on record and each lienholder by the 10th day. Reclaiming it is possible through the 20th day after that notice, once every towing, preservation and storage charge is paid. Otherwise your rights are waived and it is sold at public auction.

A car left at a commercial storage facility more than 10 days after a certified-mail notice to pick it up is treated as abandoned, and the garagekeeper must report it to police. San Juan's wrecker article caps the light-duty drop fee at $135, with no tow or storage fee if you arrive before the tow, and caps daily storage at $20 plus a state biennial adjustment.

Police non-emergency: (956) 223-2400. Code citations go through the Municipal Court at 956-223-2460.

Title help for San Juan sellers

San Juan's county tax office is the Hidalgo County one in Edinburg, 2804 S. Business Hwy 281, (956) 318-2157, roughly 6 miles north of central San Juan as the crow flies. Buyers file for their new title there.

No title? Each San Juan owner on record signs Form VTR-34 for a certified replacement: $5.45 in person, or $2 by mail with a check or money order. Texas also leaves a narrow path for a San Juan car with no title. A used parts recycler may buy it for parts, dismantling or scrap alone, provided it was built 13 or more years back and its Texas registration lapsed seven or more years ago. That recycler files a report with TxDMV and must hold the car, for 3 business days if no lien exists. See selling with no title.

However the San Juan car leaves, get the transfer notice to TxDMV inside 30 days. Ownership stays put until the buyer retitles, but the notice marks the record and keeps the buyer's tolls off you.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, describe the San Juan car, its miles, if it runs, and the title's status. A truck comes for it in a San Juan driveway, a workplace lot or a storage yard. Alamo is 2.2 miles away; for statewide rules, see Texas.