The Iowa Department of Transportation is cracking down on unlicensed businesses and individuals looking to take advantage of high scrap metal prices. Major Paul Steier with the DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement investigative unit, says the agency is receiving more complaints about people that are disposing of motorized vehicles without the proper licensing.
Iowans that are looking to get rid of a junk vehicle are asked to avoid doing business with anyone that claims they don’t need paperwork to transfer ownership. Steier says the DOT is stepping up investigations of those activities.
“If they are required to be licensed, we want to make sure that they are, and if they are not (licensed) – we will take enforcement action on them…and if they are disposing of vehicles without proper ownership documents, we definitely want to take enforcement action on them also,” Steier said.
A lot of illegal motor vehicle scrappers can be spotted through advertisements. Steier says Iowans should be wary of ads that claim the business will buy junk cars for cash, with no title required. “Those are the things that bring some great concern with us,” Steier said. The Iowa DOT officials has information about the proper and legal methods for vehicle recycling on the agency’s website .