Greenfield's 72-hour junk car rule, and selling first

When a car gets condemned

The code enforcer can act on a vehicle on private premises believed to be a junk motor vehicle, or "in such condition or parked in such a way" as to be a health or safety hazard. Section 11.06 names the conditions that make a car a public nuisance: junk, partially dismantled, "unsafely elevated," "parked on unapproved surfaces," or a home for rodents and insects.

A hearing request has to be "in writing, explaining why the vehicle should not be removed," and it must reach the code enforcer within 72 hours of condemnation. Miss it and you give up the argument that the car did not qualify.

The section does not apply to a vehicle "in an enclosed building or on the premises of an auto repair business, a service station, a junkyard or other such business."

Where a car may sit at home

Section 9.12 limits parking on residential property to "a garage, or upon a paved or unpaved driveway leading directly from the roadway to the garage or parking stall." A car on the side yard or the back lawn is off the approved surface, one of the nuisance conditions above.

On the street

• 36 hours. Section 8.12: "No person shall park any motor vehicle on any street or alley within the City for longer than 36 consecutive hours." Overnight parking is allowed "only on the even-numbered side of the street on those nights bearing an even calendar date before midnight," and on the odd side otherwise.
• Never, for a wreck. Section 8.21: "No person shall leave any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked or junked vehicle on any street or highway in the City."
• 48 hours, abandoned. A car is deemed abandoned "whenever it has remained standing on any highway or public place in the City more than 48 hours," and the same clock runs on private ground where the landowner never gave permission.
• Snow. Under Section 8.15, a vehicle blocking plows or emergency vehicles is subject to tow, and tow charges are paid before release.

If police impound an abandoned car they value at more than $100, Section 8.13 keeps it "for 14 days after certified mail notice has been sent to the owner and lienholders." You can reclaim it any time before sale by paying towing, storage and related charges, and the code can add a forfeiture on top.

Wisconsin title and plates

The state handles titles through its Division of Motor Vehicles, and you cannot sell a car until it is titled to you. Headed for scrap? Mark Junk across the title; you may do that even with no title in hand, since WisDOT does not demand a duplicate for junking. Keep in mind a junked car is never titled or registered again. If the title lists a lien, the buyer also needs the lender's release.

Plates do not travel with the car. Unexpired plates can be kept for a like vehicle owned by you or your spouse or partner; otherwise cut them in pieces. After a private sale to another individual, WisDOT wants your seller report within 30 days.

Nearby

Greenfield's closest neighbors in a straight line: West Allis at 3.4 miles, Franklin at 5.3 and New Berlin at 6.3. The Wisconsin page covers statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, describe the car with its year, make and model, share the mileage, mention whether it starts, and tell us what title paperwork you have. Pickup works in the garage, at the end of the driveway, or at the repair shop where it is parked.