Getting a junk car out of Weslaco

The clock in section 82-65

The rule is one sentence. It is unlawful "to leave or permit to remain upon private or public property ... within the city limits of the city any junked vehicle or parts or portions thereof for any period of time in excess of 72 consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property, or 30 days, if the vehicle is on private property."

Section 82-63 sets Weslaco's test. Weslaco applies it to a self-propelled car lacking a current plate or valid inspection certificate that is also discarded, wrecked, partly dismantled, or broken down past those same 72-hour and 30-day limits. Section 82-64 then names it a public nuisance if it shows from a Weslaco street, sidewalk or other public spot, or if it sits on public property.

Section 82-74 exempts one hiding place only: a lawful, closed building that keeps the Weslaco car out of public view.

How a Weslaco case runs

• Notice. The chief of police sends the owner or occupant a notice naming the nuisance and requiring removal "within ten days from the date of said notice." It goes in person, by certified or registered mail to the address in the appraisal district records, or, if neither works, it is posted. A letter returned as "refused" still counts as delivered.
• Hearing. A hearing before the municipal judge comes before any removal, and the judge's order describes the car.
• No hearing. Abate within ten days of receiving notice, or the chief may have the car taken to the storage area.
• Entry. Weslaco's chief, or an agent, may come onto private land to look at vehicles, work out whose they are and haul off one declared a nuisance.
• Fine. $1 to $500 on conviction, and each day is a separate offense.

After removal

A removed car may not be reconstructed or made operable. After ten days or more in city storage, Weslaco scraps it, sells it to a demolisher or moves it to a city salvage site. Section 82-72 says sale proceeds "shall be first applied to the cost of removal and storage, and the balance, if any, shall be paid to the person entitled thereto, either a lienholder or the owner."

On the streets, a car the city traffic engineer finds abandoned may be removed to storage on the chief of police's order. The owner can be charged a reasonable tow plus the actual cost of notice, advertising, posting, sale and redemption. If nobody redeems it, it is sold under the procedure for foreclosing a mechanic's lien.

Weslaco's wrecker ordinance sets maximum rates of $200 per light-duty response and $20 a day for storage. Catch the truck before it pulls away and the light-duty drop fee is $135.

Code Enforcement is at 255 S. Kansas Ave, (956) 447-3401, and lists the junked-vehicle rule among its common violations. The Dispatch Center's non-emergency line is (956) 968-8591.

Title and plates from Weslaco

Weslaco sellers deal with the Hidalgo County tax office in Edinburg, 2804 S. Business Hwy 281, (956) 318-2157. As the crow flies it is about 14 miles northwest of central Weslaco. Your buyer handles the title filing there, so the drive is theirs, not yours.

If the car was declared a salvage vehicle, it has a branded title. Texas draws that line where the repair bill, minus repainting and sales tax, would exceed the car's actual cash value just ahead of the damage. A salvage title does not stop a whole-car sale; see salvage title.

Fill in the Weslaco sale date and the mileage before signing the title over; no notary in Texas. Then let TxDMV know about the Weslaco sale, online or by Form VTR-346, before 30 days pass. Keep the plates or deface them; the sticker stays behind.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, describe the Weslaco car, its odometer reading, whether the engine runs, and if you have the Weslaco title. A truck will come to it, in a yard, a driveway or a lot after a tag. Alamo is 8.2 miles away and Harlingen 18.1; statewide rules are on Texas.