Davis dead cars: back fees, smog and selling

Smog: when a Davis seller needs one

In California, smog is the seller's job: get the inspection done before the sale, then give your buyer the report. Exemptions at sale include:

• No smog check for a Davis gas or hybrid car up to four model years old, though a transfer fee applies
• gasoline cars built in 1975 or earlier
• diesels from 1997 or earlier, plus diesels above 14,000 lb GVWR
• EVs and motorcycles

For a dead car, a different exemption matters more: cars transferred for wrecking or dismantling sit outside the smog rule altogether. A Davis car that flunked its test needs no repair before a dismantler takes it. More in failed inspection.

Cars outside California emissions rules

Vehicle Code 24007 narrows the buyers for any car that misses Air Resources Board rules: a dealer, or a sale for legal wrecking or dismantling, and nothing else. When the car changes hands in Davis, the buyer gets a certificate of compliance or noncompliance from the seller.

Davis city rules

When we looked, the Davis municipal code wasn't posted online. Under Vehicle Code 22660, each California city may pass its own ordinance for clearing inoperative cars off private or public land and recovering costs, so Davis might have one. California law allows Davis to tow a car parked on its streets for 72 hours in a row against a local rule.

Title and release

Yolo County plays no role in titles; California's DMV handles them at field offices or by mail. A Davis seller signs the certificate of title, along with any lender named on it. In Davis, the buyer files it next and gets 10 days to report the new owner. DMV's seller steps mention no notary.

Your clock is shorter. The law gives sellers five days, after selling or otherwise getting rid of a car, to notify DMV with REG 138. A Davis seller may file the sale report through dmv.ca.gov/nrl. After DMV logs the sale, the Davis buyer is the one liable for later tickets and civil claims. Standard plates usually stay with the car. See after you sell and California.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. Send your Davis car through the form. Our truck comes to driveways, apartment complex lots and garages around town. Woodland is 8.0 miles off and Dixon 8.8.