Selling a junk or dead car in Onalaska

The 10-day rule for driveways and yards

Section 12.01.41 covers private property in every zoning district. The key line reads: "Any unregistered, unlicensed, or inoperable vehicles ... shall not be stored for more than 10 days on private property on an approved hard surface, unless stored within an enclosed structure."

Three points follow from that wording. It reaches an Onalaska car with expired registration even when the engine is fine. The section's text does not mention a warning letter before the count begins. And a closed garage or shed is the only way to keep one longer.

Tagged on a street, lot or ramp

Section 10.01.39 runs a much shorter clock. It covers a "partially dismantled, nonoperable, wrecked, junked or discarded motor vehicle" left on "any public highway, parking lot or ramp." Police post a written notice "in a conspicuous place on the vehicle" and also mail or serve it on the owner or the occupant in charge of the premises. If the car remains 24 hours later, it is "declared to be a public nuisance" and can be removed under Title 12. A car kept in a lawful storage place the city has authorized is exempt.

Two more street rules apply even when the car runs:

• Nothing may stay on a public street or city-owned lot "for a period of 24 or more consecutive hours in the same location." If police have it towed, you pay the removal and storage costs before you can take it back.
• A car on a public street without valid plates or other proof of registration counts as unregistered. An officer who finds one "shall cause the vehicle to be removed to an impoundment location" until it is claimed or disposed of.

Wisconsin paperwork for an Onalaska sale

Your title came from the state, not from La Crosse County. Its back side is where the sale gets recorded: your signature and the date, the mileage reading, the box for any title brand, the amount paid, and who bought it and their address. Where the front lists two owners linked by the word AND, each of them signs.

Selling it as scrap works a little differently. Mark the word Junk across that title. A missing title is no obstacle here, since WisDOT lets an owner junk a vehicle without ordering a duplicate first. The trade-off is permanent: that car will never get a Wisconsin title or registration again. See selling with no title for the details.

Plates stay behind with you. In Onalaska, plates that are still valid may be moved to a similar vehicle of yours. If not, cut them up. WisDOT does not want plates sent in. Then, if you sold to a private person, use WisDOT's online seller notification within 30 days, entering the VIN, the buyer's identity, the sale price and the sale date.

Emission testing is not part of the picture: La Crosse County falls outside Wisconsin's seven testing counties.

Around Onalaska

La Crosse sits 4.6 miles off, measured as the crow flies. Eau Claire is 65.8 miles, and Madison and Middleton each lie a bit past 100. The La Crosse page covers that city's own rules, and statewide rules are on the Wisconsin page.

Getting an offer

Ready for a number? Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Selling an Onalaska car? Selling a car in Onalaska? Use the offer form. A tagged ramp space or your driveway both work.