Selling a junk or dead car in Eau Claire

What the city code says

Title 10 of the Eau Claire code, Vehicles and Traffic, covers abandoned cars in one plain line: a police officer "who discovers an abandoned vehicle may cause that vehicle to be removed and stored at a suitable place." Another passage in the city's ordinances lets officials "remove or cause to be removed any such vehicle and to have such vehicle towed."

The excerpts we read put no number of hours or days on when a car counts as abandoned in Eau Claire. Outside its first-class cities, Wisconsin lets each city pick that period. Eau Claire might have a time limit somewhere in its code that we missed. Ask City Hall before you count on extra time.

Downtown has a second trap for a car that will not start. Meter spaces on Gibson Street, East Grand Avenue, Main Street and Gray Street run on time limits, and the code reaches any car that "remains parked in any meter parking space beyond the parking limit." The Barstow Street, Farwell Street and Seaver Street lots carry their own charges and periods. If a car dies in one of those places, the clock keeps running while it sits stuck.

How Wisconsin law backs the city up

Chapter 342 of the state statutes fills in what the city excerpts leave out:

• Leaving a car where it reasonably looks abandoned is against the law. In first-class cities that happens after 48 hours unattended; in Eau Claire's case the local governing body picks the period.
• The statute does not treat a car as abandoned if it is hidden from ordinary public view, like inside a closed garage.
• Eau Claire keeps an impounded car until someone claims it or it is disposed of. When towing and storage cost more than the car is worth, it may be junked or sold early.
• A mostly intact car more than 19 model years old follows its own disposal process.
• An officer who orders a tow must tell the tow company, inside one day, who owns the car and who holds liens on it.
• Whoever owns the car pays for its abandonment, impound and disposal.

So an old car hauled off an Eau Claire street can be gone for good, and the owner still owes for it.

Two counties, one state title

Eau Claire is split between Chippewa County and Eau Claire County, but that line changes none of the paperwork. Neither county handles titles here. They come from the state, via the WisDOT Division of Motor Vehicles. Neither county is among the seven where emissions tests apply, so no test stands between you and a sale.

Before you can sell, the title must already carry your name. On the back, sign and date first. After that, write the odometer reading on the Eau Claire title, along with the brand disclosure, the sale amount, and the buyer's name plus address. When AND joins two owners, you need both signatures. When OR joins them, one of them can sign alone. Does the title still list a bank? Then give the buyer that bank's lien release as well.

When the car is headed for scrap, WisDOT has you write Junk across the title. A missing title does not need replacing first; if you want a replacement anyway, the statute fee is $20 on Form MV2119.

After a private sale to another person, file the seller report online within 30 days. It asks for the VIN, who bought the car, what they paid and the sale date. After you sell walks through it.

Plates stay with you

Wisconsin is a state where the seller keeps the plates. Unscrew them before the car leaves. If your Eau Claire plates are current, a similar vehicle in your own name or your spouse's or partner's can take them. If not, destroy them. Mailing them to the DMV does nothing, and leftover registration is not refunded. If plates went out on the car by mistake, the fix is the License Plates Cancellation Application, MV2514.

Nearby towns

Eau Claire is a long drive from the next town we cover. Onalaska is 65.8 miles off as the crow flies, La Crosse 69.9 and Wausau 91.0. Our Wisconsin page collects the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or send the form. Eau Claire owners can share the car details on our short form. We pick up where it quit: a downtown curb, a driveway across the river, or a shop lot after the repair quote came back too high.