Selling a junk car in Watertown

From impound to sale

The ordinance sets the order of events:

1. The tow. The car goes to a police impound facility. The same power covers a car left on a city lot, street or right-of-way in a way that blocks traffic or street maintenance.
2. The letter. In Watertown, a parking citation goes out by certified mail from the Chief of Police or someone the chief designates. It goes out within 10 days of the impound and no less than 30 days before the car can be sold. It goes to the registered owner at the address on the Department of Transportation record. If you moved and never updated that address, the letter can miss you.
3. The window. You have 30 days from the impound to reclaim the car at the Watertown Police Department. Bring "the vehicle title, identification or other satisfactory evidence" and pay the bond forfeiture and charges.
4. The sale. When the tow and storage bill for the minimum impound period is higher than the car's value, it "may be junked or sold" after that period is over. Whoever buys it at the sale gets 10 days to haul it out and pays a daily storage fee.

Contesting it

A Watertown registered owner or lienholder of record can challenge the impound, the planned disposal or the fees. The place to do it is Watertown Municipal Court, on the date printed in the certified letter.

One city, two counties

Watertown sits in both Dodge and Jefferson counties. For a car, the split matters less than you might think. The WisDOT Division of Motor Vehicles issues titles for Watertown cars. Wisconsin requires emission tests in seven counties, and neither of these two is on the list.

Title and plates

The title has to show your name before you sell privately. Sign and date the back of the Watertown title. Then a Watertown seller fills in the miles, marks any title brand, notes what the car sold for, and lists who bought it and where they live. On a Watertown title, owners listed with AND must all sign. If it says OR, one is enough. WisDOT says a lost title does not have to be replaced to junk a vehicle, and once junked it cannot be titled again.

Take the plates off. Got current plates in Watertown? Watertown owners can move them to a similar vehicle titled to them, their spouse or their domestic partner. Otherwise, destroy them. You get no money back for unused time. Report a private sale to an individual to WisDOT within 30 days.

Getting an offer

Contact us online or at (877) 421-6008. Send the form for a Watertown car. We come to Dodge County and Jefferson County homes, workplaces and shop lots. Pickup is free anywhere in the US. Oconomowoc is 13.3 miles away as the crow flies. Already towed? Read towed or impounded. For rules across the state, go to Wisconsin.