Selling a junk or dead car in Middleton

The garage rule and its one exception

That sentence from Section 35.02.02 covers unlicensed cars as well as broken ones. In a driveway, expired plates put a car in the same position as a seized engine does.

The exception is narrow. It only helps where "no garage or similar permitted accessory structure exists." Then a car "that has been licensed, operable and in regular use by an occupant" may sit outside "for up to seven (7) consecutive days" while it "is temporarily inoperable or will otherwise be transported off premises for repair, sale or salvage." In plain terms: your daily driver broke down, you have no garage, and you have a week to get it fixed or gone.

If the police send a nuisance notice

Middleton's nuisance list in Section 17.02 includes "storage of junk or discarded property including automobiles," and it defines junked or discarded automobiles to include "any unlicensed or inoperable vehicle." A notice under that section gives the owner 10 days from receipt to respond to the Chief of Police. The reply can request "a hearing before the Common Council" or lay out in writing how the nuisance will end. Having the car picked up is a short written plan.

Winter streets and impounds

From November 15 to March 15, Section 15.04 says no vehicle may be left "between the hours of 1:00 am and 7:00 am on the even numbered side of any street on odd numbered calendar days and on the odd numbered side of any street on even numbered calendar days." A Middleton car that will not turn over has no way to trade curbs each evening, and a car in violation of any parking rule can be towed with the costs charged to the owner.

The same section covers abandoned cars. Once the police chief concludes "the cost of towing and storage charged for the impoundment would exceed the value of the vehicle," the car may be "junked or sold prior to expiration of the impoundment period." The city's notice warns that not reclaiming the car is a waiver of all right, title and interest in it. Anyone who buys it at a city sale gets 10 days to haul it away.

Business lots

Commercial properties have their own line in Section 10.03.10: "Outdoor storage of unlicensed or inoperable vehicles is prohibited outside fenced areas." A dead work truck behind a shop needs a fenced, screened yard or a ride out.

Selling it under Wisconsin rules

WisDOT issues the title, and its reverse is the bill of sale in all but name. Sign there, date it, note the odometer, tick the brand disclosure, enter what the buyer paid and print the buyer's name and address. For a car headed to the yard, write Junk across it. Junking ends a car's Wisconsin road life permanently, but a lost title does not hold it up; WisDOT waives the replacement in that case.

Plates come off autos and light trucks. Put unexpired plates on a similar vehicle belonging to you or your spouse or domestic partner, or shred them; WisDOT pays nothing back and takes no plates by mail. A private sale to another individual gets reported to WisDOT within 30 days.

Close to Middleton

As the crow flies, Madison is 4.1 miles from Middleton, Fitchburg 9.3 and Sun Prairie 14.5. Janesville and Watertown are both just under 40 miles off. Statewide rules are on the Wisconsin page.

Getting an offer

At (877) 421-6008 or through the form, share the make, model and model year, approximate miles, whether the car fires up and whether you have its title. If the seven-day window is already running, mention it. Our pickup goes to the driveway, the curb or the repair shop, wherever the car is.