(1) The owner of any vehicle who sells or transfers it to another with the intention or understanding that the vehicle is not to be used as an operating unit shall, at the time of sale or transfer, endorse on the face of the certificate of title to that vehicle the words "for junk only," and the department shall place those words on the face of each subsequent certificate of title to that vehicle.
(2)  No person shall operate upon a highway any vehicle, the certificate of title to which has been so endorsed, and no person shall sell or attempt to sell that vehicle for use as an operating unit.