Atascadero dead cars: the code, the zoning and a whole-car sale

How the city sees a stored wreck

Section 6-7.01 is built on Vehicle Code 22660. Its findings say "abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles, or parts thereof," on public or private property "reduce the value of private property," "invite plundering" and "create fire hazards," and are "an attractive nuisance" to kids.

When the enforcing officer "has reason to believe or observes" such a nuisance, the code says he "shall immediately investigate." Should the city rule the car a nuisance, it fixes the administrative and removal costs and may "charge the same against the owner or other person in possession of the parcel of land." Then, "within five days after the date of removal," Atascadero tells the DMV which car went.

Who is exempt

The chapter protects working businesses. A car stored "in a lawful manner on private property on an approved site" for a "licensed dismantler, vehicle dealer, junk dealer, a towing service, or an auto repair or body shop" is exempt when the storage is "necessary to the operation" of that business. A homeowner with a spare lot does not get the same pass.

Zoning: storage is a use of its own

Atascadero's zoning code treats a yard full of dead cars as a land use, not a hobby. Section 9-3.500 says "long-term parking and storage of inoperable vehicles is classified in 'vehicle and equipment storage.'" Section 9-9.102 describes a junk yard as any lot used for the "outdoor storage, sorting, handling, processing, dismantling, wrecking" of inoperative vehicles. So even a few cars kept for parts on a residential lot can raise a zoning question.

Plates, title and the state notice

In California the DMV, not the county, owns the title process. An Atascadero seller signs on the seller line, any lienholder co-signs, and the buyer files the paperwork. No notary shows up anywhere in the DMV's steps for sellers.

REG 138 follows, due in 5 days, online or by mail. It does more than stop parking tickets. Say your buyer abandons the car later: per Vehicle Code 22523, having that sale report on record spares you the infraction and any balance left after a lien sale. When an Atascadero car is simply sold, its regular plates go along with it. A car headed for dismantling skips the Smog Check. See our California page for more.

Nearby

Measured straight, Paso Robles lies 10.1 miles off and San Luis Obispo 15.2 miles.

Getting an offer

Get in touch at (877) 421-6008 or online. We will want the model year, the make, a mileage estimate, whether it will start, and what you have in the way of a title. Free pickup anywhere in the US means the truck can come to your lot, a shop's back row, or wherever the car gave out.