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321.52 Out-of-state sales---junked, dismantled, wrecked, or salvage vehicles.

1. When a vehicle is sold outside the state for purposes other than for junk the owner, dealer or otherwise, shall detach the registration plates and registration card and shall indicate on the reverse side of such registration card the name and address of the foreign purchaser or transferee over the person's signature. The owner shall surrender the registration plates and registration card to the county treasurer, unless the registration plates are properly attached to another vehicle, who shall cancel the records and shall destroy the registration plates and forward the registration card to the department. The department shall make a notation on the records of the out-of-state sale, and, after a reasonable period, may destroy the files to that particular vehicle. The department is not authorized to make a refund of license fees on a vehicle sold out of state unless it receives the registration card completed as provided in this section.

2. The purchaser or transferee of a motor vehicle for which a certificate of title is issued which is sold for scrap or junk shall surrender the certificate of title to the county treasurer of the county of residence of the transferee within fifteen days after assignment of the certificate of title. The county treasurer shall issue to such person without fee a junking certificate. A junking certificate shall authorize the holder to possess, transport or transfer by endorsement the ownership of the junked vehicle. A certificate of title shall not again be issued for the vehicle subsequent to the issuance of a junking certificate except as provided in subsection 3. The county treasurer shall cancel the record of the vehicle and forward the certificate of title to the department. The junking certificate shall be of a form to allow for the assignment of ownership of the vehicle. The junking certificate shall provide a space for the notation of the transferee of the component parts of the vehicle transferred by the owner of the vehicle.

3. When a vehicle for which a certificate of title is issued is junked or dismantled by the owner, the owner shall detach the registration plates and surrender the plates to the county treasurer, unless the plates are properly assigned to another vehicle. The owner shall also surrender the certificate of title to the county treasurer. Upon surrendering the certificate of title, the county treasurer shall issue to the person, without fee, a junking certificate, which shall authorize the holder to possess, transport or transfer ownership of the junked vehicle by endorsement of the junking certificate. The county treasurer shall hold the surrendered certificate of title, registration receipt and, if applicable, the registration plates for a period of fourteen days following the issuance of a junking certificate under this subsection. Within the fourteen-day period the person who was issued the junking certificate and to whom the vehicle was titled or assigned may surrender to the county treasurer the junking certificate, and upon the person's payment of appropriate fees and taxes and payment of any credit for registration fees received by the person for the vehicle under section 321.46, subsection 3, the county treasurer shall issue to the person a certificate of title for the vehicle. After the expiration of the fourteen-day period, a county treasurer shall not issue a certificate of title for a junked vehicle for which a junking certificate is issued. The county treasurer shall cancel the record of the vehicle and forward the certificate of title to the department.

However, upon application the department upon a showing of good cause may issue a certificate of title after the fourteen-day period for a junked vehicle for which a junking certificate has been issued. For purposes of this subsection, "good cause" means that the junking certificate was obtained by mistake or inadvertence. If a person's application to the department is denied, the person may make application for a certificate of title under the bonding procedure as provided in section 321.24, if the vehicle qualifies as an antique vehicle under section 321.115, subsection 1, or the person may seek judicial review as provided under sections 17A.19 and 17A.20.

4. a. A vehicle rebuilder or a person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or exchanging vehicles of a type required to be registered in this state, upon acquisition of a wrecked or salvage vehicle, shall surrender the certificate of title or manufacturer's or importer's statement of origin properly assigned, together with an application for a salvage certificate of title to the county treasurer of the county of residence of the purchaser or transferee within fifteen days after the date of assignment of the certificate of title for the wrecked or salvage motor vehicle. This subsection applies only to vehicles with a fair market value of five hundred dollars or more, based on the value before the vehicle became wrecked or salvage. Upon payment of a fee of two dollars, the county treasurer shall issue a salvage certificate of title which shall bear the word "SALVAGE" stamped or printed on the face of the title in a manner prescribed by the department. A salvage certificate of title may be assigned to an educational institution, a new motor vehicle dealer licensed under chapter 322, a person engaged in the business of purchasing bodies, parts of bodies, frames or component parts of vehicles for sale as scrap metal, a salvage pool, or an authorized vehicle recycler licensed under chapter 321H. An authorized vehicle recycler licensed under chapter 321H or a new motor vehicle dealer licensed under chapter 322 may assign a salvage certificate of title to any person. A vehicle on which ownership has transferred to an insurer of the vehicle, as a result of a settlement with the owner of the vehicle arising out of damage to, or unrecovered theft of the vehicle, shall be deemed to be a wrecked or salvage vehicle and the insurer shall comply with this subsection to obtain a salvage certificate of title within fifteen days after the date of assignment of the certificate of title of the vehicle.

b. When a wrecked or salvage vehicle has been repaired, the owner may apply for a regular certificate of title by paying the appropriate fees and surrendering the salvage certificate of title and a properly executed salvage theft examination certificate. The county treasurer shall issue a regular certificate of title which shall bear a designation stamped or printed on the face of the title and stamped and printed on the registration receipt indicating that the vehicle was previously titled on a salvage certificate of title in a form approved by the department. This designation shall be included on every Iowa certificate of title and registration receipt issued thereafter for the vehicle. The stamped designation shall be in black and shall be in letters no bigger than sixteen point type and located on the center of the right side of the registration receipt. However, if ownership of a stolen vehicle has been transferred to an insurer organized under the laws of this state or admitted to do business in this state, or if the transfer was the result of a settlement with the owner of the vehicle arising from damage to or the unrecovered theft of the vehicle, and if the insurer certifies to the county treasurer on a form approved by the department that the insurance company has received one or more written estimates which state that the retail cost of repairs including labor, parts, and other materials of all damage to the vehicle is less than three thousand dollars, the county treasurer shall issue to the insurance company the regular certificate of title and registration receipt without this designation.

c. A salvage theft examination shall be made by a peace officer who has been specially certified and recertified when required by the Iowa law enforcement academy to do salvage theft examinations. The Iowa law enforcement academy shall determine standards for training and certification, conduct training, and may approve alternative training programs which satisfy the academy's standards for training and certification. The owner of the salvage vehicle shall make the vehicle available for examination at a time and location designated by the peace officer doing the examination. The owner may obtain a permit to drive the vehicle to and from the examination location by submitting a repair affidavit to the agency performing the examination stating that the vehicle is reasonably safe for operation and listing the repairs which have been made to the vehicle. The owner must be present for the examination and have available for inspection the salvage title, bills of sale for all essential parts changed, and the repair affidavit. The examination shall be for the purposes of determining whether the vehicle or repair components have been stolen. The examination is not a safety inspection and a signed salvage theft examination certificate shall not be construed by any court of law to be a certification that the vehicle is safe to be operated. There shall be no cause of action against the peace officer or the agency conducting the examination or the county treasurer for failure to discover or note safety defects. If the vehicle passes the theft examination, the peace officer shall indicate that the vehicle passed examination on the salvage theft examination certificate. The permit and salvage theft examination certificate shall be on controlled forms prescribed and furnished by the department. The owner shall pay a fee of thirty dollars upon completion of the examination. The agency performing the examinations shall retain twenty dollars of the fee and shall pay five dollars of the fee to the department and five dollars of the fee to the treasurer of state for deposit in the general fund of the state. Moneys deposited to the general fund under this paragraph are subject to the requirements of section 8.60 and shall be used by the Iowa law enforcement academy to provide for the special training, certification, and recertification of officers as required by this subsection.

The provision of this subsection requiring a salvage theft examination by a peace officer specially certified or recertified by the Iowa law enforcement academy to do salvage theft examinations shall become effective July 1, 1989. Salvage theft examinations conducted before July 1, 1989, shall be made by peace officers authorized to do so by the state department of transportation or the department of public safety who are qualified, as determined by those agencies, to conduct salvage theft examinations. The state department of transportation shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 17A to carry out this section, including transition rules allowing for salvage theft examinations prior to July 1, 1989.

d. For purposes of this subsection a "wrecked or salvage vehicle" means a damaged motor vehicle subject to registration and having a gross vehicle weight rating of less than thirty thousand pounds, for which the cost of repair exceeds fifty percent of the fair market value of the vehicle, as determined in accordance with rules adopted by the department, before it became damaged.

Section History: Early form

[C24, 27, 31, 35, § 4887; C39, § 5002.08; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 321.52; 81 Acts, ch 102, § 3]

Section History: Recent form

84 Acts, ch 1169, § 2; 84 Acts, ch 1305, § 56; 85 Acts, ch 67, § 36; 85 Acts, ch 209, § 3; 88 Acts, ch 1089, § 4--;6; 88 Acts, ch 1215, § 8--;10; 89 Acts, ch 185, § 3; 89 Acts, ch 296, § 28; 91 Acts, ch 142, § 2, 3; 91 Acts, ch 260, § 1225, 1226; 92 Acts, ch 1104, § 3; 93 Acts, ch 131, § 12; 94 Acts, ch 1107, §51; 95 Acts, ch 45, §2, 3

Internal References

Referred to in § 321.1, 321.24, 321.49, 321.52A, 321.100, 321.126, 321H.6, 322C.6, 326.15, 331.557

Footnotes

Surcharge imposed; § 321.52A


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