Junk cars in Desert Hot Springs: the rules and a way out

The 10-day line

Section 10.52.030 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 in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative condition upon any private property or public property within the City for a period in excess of 10 days." The exceptions begin with a car that is completely enclosed.

The definitions in Section 10.52.020 are broad:

• Inoperative: a car whose engine, wheels, tires or other essential parts are damaged, removed or "allowed to deteriorate," so it "cannot and/or is incapable of being driven under its own power."
• Wrecked: "damaged to such an extent that it cannot be operated upon the highway."
• Abandoned: a car in such "inoperable or neglected condition" that the owner's plan to walk away from it "may be reasonably concluded."

Unclaimed crash cars at a lawful storage yard are carved out of the abandoned category.

Notice, hearing and disposal

Section 10.52.010 lays out the steps:

1. Certified mail. The property owner and the vehicle owner each get a 10-day notice by certified mail, unless both have already signed releases giving up any interest.
2. Hearing request. If the Code Compliance Division gets a request within 10 days after mailing, "a public hearing shall be held by an impartial Hearing Officer."
3. Disposal. The clock can begin one of three ways: "Five days after adoption of the order," five days once the decision is mailed, or 15 days after the Hearing Officer okays removal on appeal.

For low-value cars where registration was found, the city first sends notice of intent to dispose. If no one claims the car, it can be gotten rid of twelve days after the notice is sent.

California title brands

California's list of title brands is short: Salvaged, Remanufactured, Park Trailer, Grey Market, Original/Prior Taxi, Original/Prior Police, and Warranty Return (Lemon Law Buyback).

• Salvaged covers damage from a crash, a flood or vandals, plus cars that were taken apart once. Flood damage has no separate brand.
• Total loss salvage uses no percentage. Vehicle Code 544 says it depends on the owner or insurer judging a repair not worth the money. After that, a salvage certificate stands in for the title.
• Nonrepairable (Vehicle Code 431) covers surgical strips, complete burns and cars an owner has declared fit only for parts or scrap. No later title or registration is possible.

More on this in salvage title and wrecked or totaled.

Paperwork for the sale

A car bound to be wrecked or taken apart skips the smog test. On the title you sign as seller; the buyer files it, and nothing in the DMV's instructions calls for a notary. Once you send REG 138 inside 5 days, new tickets and claims land on the buyer.

Towns nearby

Cathedral City is 9.6 miles away as the crow flies, Palm Springs 10.7 and Yucca Valley 13.4. Palm Desert is 18.3 miles away. The California page collects the state rules, and flood damage covers water-soaked cars.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or send the form. We'd like the model year, make, model, miles on the dash, if it runs, and any salvage brand the title carries. Pickup can be from a dirt lot, a carport or behind the house.