Junk and non-running cars in Coachella

Two notices, three days apart

Section 10.20.160 reads: "It is unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to abandon, park, store or leave or permit the abandonment, parking, storing or leaving of any licensed or unlicensed vehicle or parts thereof which is abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or in an inoperative condition upon any private property or public property, including highways, within the city for a period in excess of seventy-two (72) or more consecutive hours" unless an exception applies.

The process then runs in a set order:

1. Posted notice. When the city finds such a car, "a seventy-two-hour notice of intention to abate shall be posted on the vehicle."
2. Second look. "A follow up inspection shall be conducted within seventy-two (72) hours."
3. Mailed notice. If the car is still there after 72 hours, a ten-day notice goes out by mail under Section 10.20.090.

The notice says to remove it "within 10 days from the date of mailing of this notice." If not, Coachella tows it and charges the parcel's owner for the job and its paperwork. A hearing request from either owner faces the same 10-day deadline.

There is one shortcut. Coachella can skip notice entirely for a car "inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission, or wheels, and incapable of being towed," when someone the Vehicle Code authorizes puts its value under $200 and the city decides it puts public health or safety at risk right now.

What counts as inoperative in Coachella

Section 10.20.020 is specific. A car that "lacks inflated tires, a working engine, transmission, differential or other essential parts," or one "left unattended on jacks, blocks" or otherwise raised, can be treated as inoperative under the chapter when its condition is one "which constitutes a threat to the public health, safety or general welfare."

The zoning code also limits driveway repairs. "Minor emergency repairs" cover a currently licensed car owned by the occupants, as long as the work does not keep it immobile for more than 24 hours. It also cannot require removing the engine, transmission, rear end or more than one wheel. Body and fender work is left out. An engine swap on blocks is not a minor repair here.

One carve-out from the same definitions: crash wrecks sitting unclaimed at a lawful storage lot do not count as abandoned for Chapter 10.20.

California rules that help a junk sale

• Smog. Dismantling-bound cars skip the Smog Check entirely.
• Air rules. A Coachella car that misses California Air Resources Board standards can, under Vehicle Code 24007, go only to a dealer or to legal wrecking or dismantling. When it changes hands, the seller gives a certificate stating if it complies.
• Title. Your signature goes on the California title; the buyer files it. Nothing in the DMV's private-sale steps requires a notary in Coachella.
• Release. Coachella sellers send in REG 138 within 5 days. A Coachella seller files it with the DMV online, or mails it to P.O. Box 942859, Sacramento, ZIP 94259-0001.
• Plates. Ordinary plates normally go with the car.

Nearby towns

Indio is 6.0 miles away as the crow flies, La Quinta 8.2 and Palm Desert 13.1. The California page covers the state rules. If the car simply won't start, see car doesn't run.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Coachella? Call (877) 421-6008 or start on the form. Pickup can happen on your lot, at a relative's place, or wherever the car sits with that 72-hour notice still on the windshield.