Brookfield's junked-car permit, and selling instead

How Brookfield defines junked

Section 10.24.010 casts a wide net. A junked vehicle is one that is "partially or fully dismantled, inoperable, unlicensed contrary to state law, unregistered contrary to state law, or incapable of being operated upon the public streets or highways." Inoperable gets its own definition: "incapable of being propelled under its own power, including but not limited to a vehicle that is missing an engine, battery, transmission, wheel, or tire; is elevated on blocks or other objects; has a deflated tire."

So one soft tire, a pulled battery or expired registration might each be enough. The word vehicle stretches well past cars, too, reaching "any automobile, automobile part, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile, motorhome, bus, motorcycle, van or other device designed for travel."

Exempt: cars "out of ordinary public view, in an enclosed building," plus ones a lawful business needs. Abandoned is a separate category, meaning a car sitting on an alley, a street, public ground or another person's land, without that person's okay, beyond 48 hours. Section 3.14.040 ties those 48 hours to Wisconsin statute 342.40.

Clocks that start after a notice

• 48 hours, public property. A violating car on public land that poses no hazard gets a placard saying it "will be towed within forty-eight (48) hours if not removed."
• 7 days, private property. The notice spells out a right to petition the administrative appeals board for a hearing within seven days. A week after placarding, with no petition, no removal and no repair, the car may be hauled off and impounded or destroyed.
• 10 days, impound. Storage lasts at minimum ten days from the certified letters to owner and lienholders. Getting the car back means paying towing, storage and notice fees. Letting that window close counts as "a waiver of all right, title and interest in the vehicle."

When the police chief finds impound charges would top the vehicle's value, the city may junk it or sell it to a licensed dealer ahead of schedule, unless it is a substantially complete vehicle past 19 model years. The owner pays; so does the property owner or occupant when the car sat on private land. Whatever a sale does not cover, the city can pursue in civil court.

Wisconsin title and plates

WisDOT's Division of Motor Vehicles issues every title. Joint owners listed with AND both sign; with OR, one signature is enough. To scrap, mark Junk on the title, after which no new title or registration is possible, and a missing title need not be replaced first.

For junked autos, statute 342.34 says the owner pulls the plates and either saves them for another vehicle of the same type or destroys them. File the private-sale report with WisDOT inside 30 days. Waukesha County, home to Brookfield, is one of seven counties with emission testing.

Nearby

Measured in a straight line, Wauwatosa is 4.2 miles from Brookfield, West Allis 6.0, New Berlin 6.4 and Waukesha 7.5. State-level detail is on the Wisconsin page.

Getting an offer

Use the form online or dial (877) 421-6008. Our form takes the car details. In Brookfield the truck can load at a garage, a placarded driveway, or the office-park lot where it quit.