Selling a dead or junk car in Delano

Where Delano lets a dead car stay

Among the section's exceptions are these two:

• "(1) completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not plainly visible from the street or other public or private property;"
• "(3) placed, stored, or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler or licensed vehicle dealer or a junkyard."

Section 10.40.020 records why the council acted. It found that stored wrecks tend "to reduce the value of private property, to promote blight and deterioration, to invite plundering, to create fire hazards."

The ten-day letter

Under Section 10.40.090, Delano mails one notice to the landowner and a separate one to the last registered owner. The landowner's version reads: "You are hereby notified to abate said nuisance by the removal of said vehicle (or said parts of a vehicle) within 10 days from the date of mailing of this notice." Miss that window and the city hauls the car away. The Delano landowner then gets a bill for the removal and administrative costs.

A hearing is the other path. Either owner may ask for one inside the 10 days, and Delano routes that request to its Chief of Police. If nothing arrives, the Vehicle Abatement Officer has authority to remove the car. Section 10.40.130 also lets the chief postpone removal "if, in its opinion, the circumstances justify it." That is worth raising when a buyer is already lined up.

Delano can skip the letter entirely for a car that is "inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission or wheels and incapable of being towed," that is "valued at less than two hundred dollars," and that is found to threaten public health or safety right away. That dollar amount is a legal test, not a price.

Sweeper nights

Section 12.24.020 bars parking on a street scheduled for mechanical sweeping "between the hours of two a.m. and seven a.m." A dead car left at the curb on sweeping night blocks the machine.

Paperwork the state asks for

For titles, Delano sellers deal with the California DMV, not Kern County. A Delano sale needs your signature on the California Certificate of Title, and the lender signs too if the loan is still open. From there, the Delano buyer takes it to the DMV with the $15 fee. Look for a notary step and you won't find one: the DMV's seller steps list no notary. A Delano seller files REG 138 within five days, either by mail or through dmv.ca.gov/nrl. Citations after that point go to the buyer.

Cars headed for dismantling are excused from the Smog Check. Regular plates tend to stay put on the car. If the car is logged as Junk, its plates go back. Missing title? Apply on REG 227 ($28) first, as selling with no title explains.

Nearby

In a straight line, Wasco sits 13.3 miles from Delano, Shafter 20.1, Porterville 24.2 and Bakersfield 31.3. Statewide rules are on the California page.

Getting an offer

Send the form or call (877) 421-6008. Tell us about your Delano car on the form. Our truck comes to a side yard or a curb near Main Street.