Selling a dead or junk car in Schertz

How the city code defines a junk vehicle

Section 54-13 sets the test. A junk vehicle is self-propelled and does not have "both an unexpired license plate and a valid motor vehicle safety inspection certificate." The section adds that "if one of those is expired, the vehicle is in violation." On top of that, it has to be wrecked, taken apart or thrown away, or have sat dead past the 72-hour mark on public ground, or past day 30 on a private lot.

Section 54-38 makes it "unlawful for a person that owns or controls any real property" to let a junk vehicle "be placed or to remain on the property." Under Section 54-36, a junk car in plain view of any Schertz public place or right-of-way is, by law, a public nuisance.

Ten days from the marshal's notice

For a car on private property, Section 54-41 has the city marshal or a designee send written notice. It goes by hand, by certified mail, or by USPS with signature confirmation, to the car's registered owner and any lienholder, plus whoever owns or lives on the land. The nuisance "must be abated within ten days." A hearing must be requested inside those same ten days, or the city removes the car. Should the letter bounce back undelivered, Schertz holds off until at least day 11 after it returns.

The hearing is before a municipal court judge, and the one question is whether the car is a junk vehicle. The Schertz judge assumes the car is inoperable, and proving otherwise falls to the owner. Once removal is ordered, or the owner skips the hearing, the city may haul it off. Section 54-44 sends it on to a scrap yard or demolisher, and "any reconstruction or work to make the vehicle operable after being removed is prohibited."

Section 54-35 sets a fine of up to $200, and each day counts as a new offense. A garage is the safe place. Section 54-39 makes it a defense that the junk vehicle sits wholly inside a building, hidden from view. No car-cover defense appears in the code.

Yards and streets

In single-family districts, Section 54-24 bars parking in the front or side yard unless the car sits on a maintained concrete or asphalt pad running from the curb, street or alley.

On public property, Section 54-37 says a junked vehicle left more than 48 hours "constitutes an abandoned motor vehicle" and can be removed under state law. Section 86-154 lets police tow a car that blocks traffic or is parked against a city ordinance, then send the owner written notice of where it is. Getting it back costs a $2.00 city fee plus the removal and storage charges. The police non-emergency line is 210-619-1200.

Title offices and Texas paperwork

Schertz spreads over three counties, so three county tax offices are in reach. Each distance is a straight line, as the crow flies, from central Schertz:

• Comal County, 205 N. Seguin Ave, New Braunfels, (830) 221-1353: about 12 miles northeast
• Guadalupe County, 307 W. Court, Ste 102, Seguin, (830) 379-2315: about 17 miles east
• Bexar County, 233 N Pecos La Trinidad, San Antonio; call (210) 335-2251: about 18 miles southwest

The buyer files for the new title. The buyer gets your signed title, with the mileage and sale date written in. Form 130-U also needs your signature, beside the sales price. Nothing needs a notary. Then tell TxDMV about the sale, online or on paper Form VTR-346; do it inside 30 days so the buyer's tolls and tickets stay off your record. Take the plates and sticker off; the plates can move to your next car, the sticker cannot. Title missing? Ask for a certified copy on Form VTR-34; at a county counter that runs $5.45. See junk car with no title and after you sell.

Getting an offer in Schertz

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Say whether the car starts, where it sits (a paved pad, a side yard, a garage) and where the title stands. Our truck goes wherever the car is parked. Nearby we also serve Cibolo, Universal City and Converse; statewide rules are on the Texas page.