Sell your car in Montgomery: running, broken down or leaving Maxwell
That number is roughly what Hyundai's Montgomery plant builds each year. This page sticks to what is different about selling a car here: your options for the car when you leave Maxwell Air Force Base or Gunter Annex, the city's rule on cars that can't run, and the county's tag offices.
Prefer a callback? Leave your number ↓
Offers powered by our buying partner — ★ 4.7 Trustpilot (205,000+ reviews) · ★ 4.5 Google (8,900+)
What the Montgomery County tag office will ask your buyer for
- The paperwork from you. For a car bought from a private party, the Probate Office's list is the original title reassigned to the buyer, a bill of sale, complete lienholder information if there's a lien, and the registration if you have it. The buyer brings proof of insurance and ID.
- An inspection before 3:30 p.m. for an out-of-state title. If the title was issued by another state, the car has to be brought in for inspection, and since April 2018 the county's probate offices stop taking inspection transactions at 3:30 p.m., an hour before closing.
Where we pick up around Montgomery
Pickup is quick anywhere in Montgomery and across the River Region, including Prattville, Millbrook, Wetumpka and Pike Road. A car in Prattville gets the same offer as one downtown in 36104, and the handoff itself takes minutes once the title is ready.
In Montgomery County, the tag office is the Probate Office. Its tag and license offices are downtown at 101 South Lawrence Street (2nd floor), Probate West at 3075 Mobile Highway and Probate South at 3425 McGehee Road, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The county asks you to call one of them with questions about a transaction; downtown is (334) 832-1233.
Leaving Maxwell or Gunter Annex with a car to decide on
Maxwell's Traffic Management Flight is the base transportation office. It sits in Building 804 at 50 LeMay Plaza South and is open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until 3:30 p.m. on Friday. On an overseas move, it can tell you whether your orders pay to ship one car or to store it for the tour. Turn-in appointments for shipping or storage are made on PCSmyPOV. Once Building 804 tells you what your orders cover, our guide to selling your car before a PCS move helps you weigh shipping against a sale.
If you'd rather sell on base, Outdoor Recreation runs a vehicle resale lot. Take proof of registration and insurance to the Outdoor Recreation Center at 206 E. Selfridge St. (Building 851) for a permit. A car, truck or motorcycle costs $15 a week, and the permit stays inside the car with a sheet showing your price and details.
Cash for your car in Montgomery
Inside city limits, Montgomery's code says you can't keep a car that can't run under its own power out in the open on your property, and a car with no current license plate counts the same way (City Code Sec. 27-13). Once you're ordered to move it (in writing by whoever owns or occupies the property, or by the police if that's you), you have five days. After that it can be hauled to a place the city provides. A car parked in a front yard also has to be on a driveway of asphalt, concrete, pavers or stone (Sec. 27-395). If a dead or unplated car is why you're looking for cash for a junk car in Montgomery, start on our junk car page.
If you know why it stopped, selling a car with a seized or overheating engine and selling one with a failing transmission go through the fix-or-sell math. For damage from a crash, selling an accident-damaged car covers what you have to tell a buyer.
What the plant builds, and what the base no longer asks for
- •The Hyundai plant builds about 360,000 vehicles a year, among them the Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Tucson, Santa Cruz and Genesis GV70, per the Alabama Department of Commerce (Made in Alabama)
- •Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex no longer require base decals, and every driver's ID is checked on the way in (Military OneSource)
Asked by Montgomery sellers
Can a private buyer come onto Maxwell to look at my car?
Yes. Without a DoD-approved ID, they need a visitor pass from the Visitor Control Center next to the Maxwell Boulevard Gate, open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. They need a REAL ID-compliant license or a U.S. passport, sponsorship by a DoD-affiliated person, such as you, and a background check. If they drive on, they also show the car's registration and proof of insurance when they get the pass.
Where can I meet a buyer safely in Montgomery?
In August 2022 the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office set up a Safe Exchange Zone at its administrative offices, 115 S. Perry Street, for sales and other exchanges. At the time, the sheriff's office said it is well lit and under 24-hour recorded surveillance. Firearm and weapon exchanges are not allowed there.
My junk car was hauled off under the city code. Can I still sell it?
Only after you get it back. Under City Code Sec. 27-13, you can claim it within 90 days by paying the city the reasonable costs of removal and storage, plus a $25 storage charge. If no one claims it, the city may sell it for the best price it can get, as junk or otherwise.
Where are the tag offices in Prattville and Wetumpka?
The Alabama Department of Revenue lists Autauga County's licensing office at 176 W. 5th St. in Prattville and Elmore County's at 100 East Commerce St. in Wetumpka.
Montgomery, Autauga and Elmore counties all use Alabama's rules for signing a title over, and our Alabama selling guide walks through them.