Selling an inoperable car in Culver City

How the city spots an inoperable car

Section 9.04.010 lists factors, among them a car with a "planned non-operational" status at the DMV, or one lacking "a current registration, a working engine, transmission, wheels, inflated tires, doors, windshield." That holds a trap. Filing a Planned Non-Operation (REG 102) spares you back registration fees under state law. In Culver City, that same status counts as a sign the car is inoperable.

Two more lines in 9.04.015 reach parked cars. A vehicle may not sit on an unpaved surface, or on paving that lacks "continuously paved access" to a street or alley. And parking spaces the code requires must stay open for parking.

The notice and the hearing

• Under Section 9.05.045, the city sends "a 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove" to both the vehicle owner and the owner of the parcel, by certified or registered letter.
• The car must go "within ten days from the date of mailing of this notice."
• When the city does the hauling, the landowner is billed for it plus administrative costs.
• Within that window, either owner may request a hearing from the City Manager or his designee (9.05.050). A landowner can send a sworn statement denying responsibility instead of appearing.

Costs are not charged to a property owner who neither allowed the car nor accepted it later.

On the street

Section 7.01.235 lets the Chief of Police remove a car parked against the chapter's rules. The "TOW-AWAY ZONE" signs must have been up at least 24 hours before. Film permits work the same way: crews post No Parking signs at least 24 hours before filming (11.14.025). A car that can't move can end up stuck in a posted zone. There's a state street limit too. Culver City can tow a car under VC 22651 once it has sat three days or more in breach of a local ordinance.

Selling it under California rules

Titles are a state matter here, run by the California DMV through its field offices and by mail.

1. Sign as seller on the title; a lienholder, if any, signs alongside. A Culver City seller won't find a notary in the DMV's steps.
2. File REG 138 to report the sale, online or on paper, no later than 5 days after.
3. Standard plates remain with the car.
4. In Culver City, no Smog Check is due on a car going to be wrecked or dismantled.

Lost the title? REG 227, at $28, comes first. See junk car with no title and our California page.

Getting an offer

Got a car to sell in Culver City? Call (877) 421-6008 or send us a message. We'll pick it up from a Culver City garage or a shop just across the line in Los Angeles, 1.2 miles away.