Sell your car in McKinney: running, unregistered or won't start
In McKinney, a car with no current plate and registration that has sat inoperable on private property for 30 consecutive days fits the city's junked-vehicle definition, and it counts as a public nuisance even when only part of it shows from the street. Ask for a cash offer online, and the free pickup comes to the car wherever it sits in town.
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Taking the sold car off your TollTag
- Deactivate its plate. A TollTag account is tied to the car's license plate. Log in, click Manage Vehicles, find the plate and press Deactivate in the Actions column (NTTA).
- Sold to an individual? In that case NTTA asks the seller to file the state's Vehicle Transfer Notification right after the sale, with the seller's full name and phone number and the buyer's full name, address and phone number (NTTA). Our Texas selling page covers the notice itself.
Where we pick up around McKinney
Pickup is free anywhere in McKinney and the rest of Collin County, Plano included. Running or not, the truck comes to the car; if it sits in the back yard or behind a locked gate, mention that when you book.
At the curb, it's a police matter. McKinney Code Compliance doesn't address vehicles in the street; it sends those calls to the McKinney Police Department at 972-547-2700 (City of McKinney). On public property the junked-vehicle clock is 72 hours rather than 30 days, so a car that dies at the curb shouldn't wait there long.
Cash for your car in McKinney
McKinney's Code Compliance page spells out when a car becomes a junked vehicle. It has to be self-propelled, have no unexpired license plate and registration certificate lawfully attached, and be wrecked, dismantled, discarded or inoperable for more than 72 hours on public property, or 30 consecutive days on private property. The city counts a car as inoperable when it can't be used or operated for a legal or a mechanical reason (City of McKinney, 2025 archive). The full rules sit in Chapter 62, Article XI of the city code.
A car that fits that description can still get an offer from our buying partner. Asking costs nothing, there's no obligation, and you have a week to accept. If you do, the free pickup takes the car off the property, and the question of how long it has been sitting leaves with it. Our junk car page covers selling one that doesn't run.
If the plate and registration lapsed while it sat, selling a car with expired registration sorts out who pays the overdue fees.
Where the car can wait in McKinney
Not on a bare front lawn. McKinney allows no parking in the front yard unless an improved surface of gravel, asphalt or concrete is already established there (City of McKinney). Selling a camper or a trailer along with the car? Boats, trailers, camper trailers and motor homes can't be parked or stored in the front yard at all; the city limits them to the rear yard.
Both rules sit on the same Code Compliance page as the junked-vehicle definition, and the Code Compliance office is at 401 E. Virginia St. When you book the pickup, say whether the car is in the garage, on the driveway or out back.
Asked by McKinney sellers
My car in McKinney has current plates but hasn't run in months. Is it a junked vehicle?
Not under the definition on the city's Code Compliance page, which needs both halves: no unexpired license plate and registration certificate lawfully attached, and wrecked, dismantled, discarded or inoperable past the time limit (City of McKinney). A current plate and registration keep it out of the first half. The front-yard parking rule still applies, so keep it on the driveway or in the garage.
If only part of the car shows from the street, does McKinney's junk rule still apply?
Yes. The city deems a junked vehicle a public nuisance even when it is only partially visible from a public place or public right-of-way (City of McKinney).
How do neighbors report a car to McKinney Code Compliance?
Through the city's online form or by phone at 972-547-7445, the Code Compliance page says (City of McKinney). A car parked in the street is a call for the police instead.
Signing the Texas title, the transfer notice and the plates follow the same state rules in every county, so those steps are on our Texas selling page. For what ends a seller's liability after the handoff, see release of liability after selling a car.
McKinney's county tax office
- •2300 Bloomdale Rd., Suite 2302 is the Collin County Tax Office's McKinney location, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The main line is (972) 547-5014. (Collin County)
- •Come early for a title transfer. The county doesn't take title transfer transactions in the last 30 minutes before closing. (Collin County appointments page)
- •Mail goes to a P.O. Box. TxDMV lists the office's mailing address as P.O. Box 8006, McKinney 75070, separate from the street address on Bloomdale. (TxDMV)