Selling a dead or junk car in Camarillo

The curb: 72 hours and two-tenths of a mile

Nudging the car along the block resets nothing. When the 72 hours are up, the code asks two things: is the car in the same spot, with markings or other signs it never moved, or has it gone less than two-tenths of a mile? Either answer is a violation. State law adds teeth. Under Vehicle Code 22651, a car parked past a local limit of that length on the street can be towed.

Trailers get even less time. Section 11.20.230 keeps non-motorized vehicles off streets, alleys and public property except while loading, for short repair jobs next door, or while a recreational trailer is being readied, and "in no event" for "a period greater than 24 hours."

Behind the fence still counts

Pulling the car into the yard does not settle it. Section 9.12.020 names, as a public nuisance, keeping "abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative" automobiles or their parts "on any portion of a lot which is visible from the public right-of-way or any adjoining properties," unless they are stored in a lawful manner. A dead car the neighbor sees over the side fence falls under it, even if the street can't see it.

Chapter 11.08 is how the city acts on that. Section 11.08.010 relies on the power the state gave cities in Vehicle Code 22660 and declares such a car, whether on a private lot or public land (highways aside), "a public nuisance which may be abated." The council's stated reasons include lower property values, blight, fire hazards and danger to children.

The zoning code also defines "automobile dismantling" (19.04.075) as "the dismantling or wrecking of vehicles" and the storage of "dismantled or wrecked inoperative vehicles." In other words, pulling a car apart at home is treated as a land use, which is one more reason to sell it whole.

Camarillo sellers and the state DMV

Ventura County has no title desk; California's DMV handles ownership changes at its field offices and through the mail. Your part is a signature on the Certificate of Title, and a bank still on the title signs as well. Then the buyer takes it in. Nothing in the DMV's private-sale instructions asks for a notary.

• Release of liability. REG 138 is due within 5 days of the sale, filed online or on paper. Once it is on the DMV record, Vehicle Code 5602 puts later tickets and lawsuits on the buyer instead of you.
• Smog. Selling to someone who will wreck or dismantle the car takes the smog inspection off the table.
• Plates. Ordinary plates ride along with the car. They go back to the DMV only when an owner files to have the car recorded as Junk.
• Lost title. A replacement through REG 227 costs $28; see junk car with no title.

Nearby

Camarillo sits between Thousand Oaks, 9.2 miles off in a straight line, and Oxnard, 10.1 miles. Santa Paula and Moorpark are both under 10 miles off. The California page covers statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. We ask for the model year, brand and model, the miles on it, if it cranks, and the title's status. Our truck can come to the curb where the 72-hour count is ticking, a side yard, or a mechanic's lot.