Selling a dead or junk car in Alameda

Expired tags count

The code defines "legally inoperative condition" as "any condition, such as expired or absent vehicle registration, which would render the operation of the vehicle on a public street unlawful." So a car parked in the side yard with old stickers can be in violation after five days, even if it runs. A carport or tarp does not change that. Only a car "completely enclosed within a building" is outside the rule.

Old stickers also mean old fees. For every year the car went unregistered, DMV adds fees and penalties, the one escape being a Planned Non-Operation filing (REG 102) made at the time. See car sitting for years.

How the city removes one

Chapter 8-22 rests on Vehicle Code 22660. In its findings the council said that keeping dead cars on land "not including highways" drags down property values and invites plundering.

• Notice (8-22.9). Registered mail carries a "ten (10) day notice of intention to abate and remove" to two addresses: the parcel owner's and the car owner's. It warns that if the car stays, Alameda removes it, with the costs and administrative costs "assessed to you as owner of the land."
• Hearing (8-22.10). In Alameda, ask the Chief of Police for one within ten days of the mailing, and a Hearing Officer rules on the removal and on who covers its cost. An owner of the land who swears in writing that the car is not their doing has, by that statement, asked for a hearing and need not appear.
• Silence. If ten days pass with no request, removal can go ahead "without holding a public hearing."
• Disposal. Removal may happen "five (5) days after adoption of the order," five days after any required decision notice is mailed, or "fifteen (15) days" after the council votes if there was an appeal.

Public streets sit outside 8-22. On the street, state Vehicle Code 22651 lets police tow a car that sits 72 hours or more against a local parking rule.

California title and plates

In Alameda, titles are a state DMV job and the county has no role. You are the one who signs the title. A lender still shown on it signs too. Your Alameda buyer next brings that title to the DMV and covers the $15 transfer fee. DMV's instructions for this step mention no notary. Lost the paper title? A new one costs $28 on REG 227, and it tends to arrive by mail 15 to 30 days after.

An Alameda seller gets five days to send the DMV a REG 138, which ends your liability for the car. Once DMV has it, Vehicle Code 5602 puts any newer tickets on the buyer. The regular plates usually stay with an Alameda car when it sells. Smog testing is skipped for a car headed to the dismantler.

Nearby

In a straight line, Oakland sits 2.7 miles off, San Leandro 5.9 and Berkeley 8.8. For statewide rules, see California.

Getting an offer

Got an Alameda car with tags that ran out? Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form, and our truck comes to your Alameda car, narrow side driveway included.