Selling a junk or dead car in Casper

Why Casper treats a parked wreck as a nuisance

Casper's council spelled out why it cares. Storing wrecked or inoperative vehicles, it found, tends "to reduce the value of private property, to promote blight and deterioration, to invite plundering, to create fire hazards" and to be "an attractive nuisance" for children. That is why the chapter lets the city abate one, not just ticket it. The chapter dates back to Ordinance 18-86, and Ordinance 28-05 later amended its wrecked-vehicle rules.

Notice the counting difference. Unlicensed cars become a problem at two. Inoperative cars are a problem at one.

When Casper presumes a car is abandoned

Section 10.60.080 sets the test. A vehicle "shall be presumed to be abandoned if it is in an inoperable condition and is not currently registered." The city can also point to other signs, listed as "flat or missing tires, obvious mechanical defects, the accumulation of weeds or detritus around the vehicle."

Four things are exempt from that section and from the code's storage rules for wrecked and disabled vehicles:

• antique or historic vehicles, if licensed under Wyoming law
• vehicles in "an enclosed garage or storage building," provided they cannot be seen from other land or a public way
• vehicles the city itself is holding for disposal
• vehicles at a junkyard licensed by the city

In Casper, covering the car with a tarp in the side yard won't fix it. Four walls and a shut door do.

What a tow costs, and what happens after

Casper does not print its towing and storage charges in the code. Section 10.60.090 reads: "All storage and towing fees shall be established by the city council by resolution." Ask the city for the current schedule.

State law covers what comes next. Once police post a notice of intent to impound, Wyoming counts a car as abandoned after it sits on a highway more than 24 hours, or on public or private property without consent more than 5 days. A mailed notice counts as complete four days after it is deposited. Impounded vehicles worth under $2,000 go to licensed disposal facilities by contract or to public auction. Those worth $2,000 or more are sold by the sheriff at public auction 30 days after notice. After the sale, the former owner has no further right to the car or anything inside it.

The Natrona County title office

Casper is the Natrona County seat, so titles are handled by the county clerk right here in town. The office we checked is at 200 N. Center St., Room 19, phone (307) 235-9211. It's on Center Street, less than a mile northwest of downtown Casper by direct distance. That's the street with the theater block shown in the photo above. For plates and registration, Casper residents deal with the county treasurer. At the state level, motor vehicle services sit with WYDOT.

Wyoming title and plate rules

• Notary. You sign and date the assignment and warranty of title before a notarial officer, list any liens, and hand it to the buyer with the car. Joint owners on an or/and title both sign, and both signatures are notarized.
• Odometer. A vehicle made within the past 10 years needs a conforming odometer statement.
• Plates. In Wyoming the plates belong to you. Unscrew them before the car leaves Casper; they and any credit left on them can go on your next vehicle. See after you sell.
• Lost title. One owner named on the title can ask the county clerk for a duplicate with an affidavit describing the loss. Teton County lists the fee as $15. More on junk cars with no title.

Other Wyoming towns

Measured in straight lines from Casper: Gillette 107.1 miles, Laramie 111.9, Sheridan 138.8, Cheyenne 141.9 and Rock Springs 171.6. The Wyoming page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Contact us online or at (877) 421-6008. Got a Casper car to sell? Our short form is step one. Tell us if the city has sent you a nuisance letter about it. Our truck comes to the car, behind a house, in a rented space, or outside the shop that gave up on it.