Springville: getting rid of a junk car that won't run

What Section 12-2-113 says

The vehicle clause reads: "It shall be unlawful to park, store or leave or permit the parking, storage, or leaving of any licensed or unlicensed motor vehicle of any kind, including boats, trailers or vehicle parts, and recreational vehicles, or a part or parts thereof which is in a wrecked, junked, partially dismantled, dismantled, or inoperative condition, whether attended or not, upon any Property in the city for a period of time in excess" of the limit the section sets. The copy we read was cut off before the number, so ask the city for the exact period.

Three things follow from the wording:

• Plates or no plates. "Licensed or unlicensed" leaves no gap for a registered car.
• Loose parts count. An engine on a stand in a Springville side yard is "a part or parts thereof."
• It is not just cars. Boats, trailers and RVs in the same state are covered.

The same section lists piles of "junk; salvage materials" as a nuisance when they are "stored so as to be visible from a public street, alley, or adjoining Property."

Don't let the yard become a junkyard

Springville's zoning code defines a junkyard as "Any space for storage, abandonment or sale of junk, scrap material or similar waste, including the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles, other vehicles, machinery or parts." Note that dismantling automobiles is named right in it. Part it out or sell it whole weighs the two, and missing parts covers a car that has already been stripped.

State law adds a paperwork wall. Before a Springville owner cuts a car up or scraps it, Utah wants the title turned in for cancellation, paired with a request for a dismantling permit. There are two ways around it. An investigator can write that the car cannot be rebuilt, or a State Tax Commission employee can issue the "Affidavit of Abandoned and Inoperable Vehicle or Junk Permit" for a dead car nobody will rebuild.

Title and plates from Springville

Utah titles are printed by the state, under the Tax Commission's motor vehicle division. Five miles north of the middle of Springville, as the crow flies, is the office we checked: Provo, East Center Street, building 150, suite 1400. Calls go through 1-800-DMV-UTAH.

1. Sign the title. Utah has no notary step. "AND" between owners calls for both signatures; "OR" needs just one.
2. Hand the buyer that signed title, this year's registration, and an emission certificate if the car carries one. Utah County is one of the five testing counties.
3. Two days is the state's deadline for the title to change hands.
4. Keep the plate unless the buyer wants it. A Springville plate left on a sold car can bring its later tickets home to you.
5. You can tell the Utah DMV about the sale on its Motor Vehicle Portal, over the phone, through the mail, or with form TC-502.

No title in the drawer? Part two of TC-123 assigns the car to your buyer, so you can skip ordering a replacement. If you want the replacement anyway, it is $6.00. See junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, describe the car, its mileage, whether it cranks, and the title. Springville has 35,670 residents on 14.475 square miles. Pickup covers the whole town, plus Spanish Fork 3.7 miles south. Statewide rules are on the Utah page.