Selling a dead or junk car in Roanoke

A week after the notice

Section 20-127 gives a property owner "seven (7) calendar days after receiving written notice" to remove the car or bring it into line. The notice goes up in a conspicuous place on the property and is also given to the owner, for example in person, with the person delivering it signing an affidavit. It has to describe the car, cite the article, and warn that removal and disposal may be at the expense of the car's owner or the property owner.

The same notice tells you about an appeal. "Within seven (7) days of the posting of the notice on the property, the owner may appeal to the city manager," stating in detail why the city should not act. If the week passes with no fix and no appeal, Section 20-128 lets the city manager have the car hauled off by the city or an independent contractor.

Fourteen days to reclaim a towed car

Once the city moves a car to an impoundment lot, Section 20-129 requires a certified letter, return receipt requested, "in no event more than five (5) business days after the removal." It goes to the property owner and, if different, the car's owner. The letter sets out the "right to reclaim the inoperable vehicle within fourteen (14) days after the date of such notice upon payment of the cost of removal." Miss that and the car "may be disposed of." The city pays itself back for any auction, towing and storage from a sale, and the cost of removal and disposal can land on either the car's owner or the landowner.

A car impounded from a street or public grounds goes through Section 20-95 instead. Expect to show identification and proof that the car is yours to take, put your name on a receipt, and settle the service charge, which is the cost of removing and storing it and counts as a lien until paid. One exception helps theft victims: the fee is not charged, or is refunded, when the car had been stolen and you did nothing to cause the tow, once you get a written statement from the chief of police, a judge, the commonwealth's attorney, the senior officer on duty or the codes compliance administrator. If nobody pays, Section 20-97 allows a sale, and the city treasurer holds whatever is left after costs for the owner.

The project-car exception

Roanoke gives a real restoration more room. An owner who "is actively restoring or repairing the vehicle" may keep it plus "one (1) additional inoperable motor vehicle" used for the work, as long as both are screened. A car that has sat untouched under a tarp for years is not what the section describes. See old project car.

The Roanoke DMV office we checked

Roanoke's DMV customer service center sits at 5220 Valleypark Drive, Roanoke, VA 24019 (540-561-7555). As the crow flies, that is roughly 4 miles northwest of downtown. We checked only this location, and the city may be served by others too.

Virginia title and plates

Through electronic titling, a Roanoke owner with a Virginia title can finish the whole sale online. Seller and buyer do it together, and no dealer is needed. With a paper title, you use Section A, the seller's box. The buyer's name and address go first. Next comes the actual mileage (the DMV says not to estimate), then the sale date, the price, and a printed name and signature from every owner. A Roanoke car sale doesn't need a notary at any point for the DMV. Whatever price you write there doubles as the bill of sale, although now and then the DMV wants an extra handwritten statement both parties sign, or a Vehicle Price Certification.

Roanoke sellers keep the plates; unscrew them before the car goes. Reuse them on your next vehicle, or surrender or inactivate them (website, service center or DMV Select) and only then phone the insurance company. Half a year or more of unused registration may earn money back if you send in FMS-210 along with the plates. Last, let the DMV know you sold; under Va. Code 46.2-604 that means filling in the transfer-notice section on the registration card.

Roanoke is not one of the Northern Virginia localities that need emissions tests. The yearly statewide safety inspection does apply to every registered car, and a parked car's sticker is often the first thing to lapse; see failed inspection or rust.

Getting an offer

Roanoke owners can request an offer on the site or at (877) 421-6008. Call about your Roanoke car. We haul from fenced backyards, apartment lots and shops that quit repairing it. Roanoke is 5.4 miles from Salem and 26.0 miles from Blacksburg; the Virginia page covers the statewide rules.