Selling a dead car in Dixon

Inside Dixon's notice

Under Dixon's municipal code, a ten-day "notice to abate" goes out by certified mail to the landowner and to the car's owner. No copy goes to the car's owner if the car is so far gone that "identification numbers are not available to determine ownership." There are two forms of the letter:

• The landowner's copy, addressed to the owner on the last equalized assessment roll. It reports that Dixon found "an (or parts of an) abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle" on the parcel. Left in place, the car "will be abated and removed by the City," with the bill "assessed to you as owner of the land."
• The car owner's copy, sent to its last registered or legal owner. It describes the vehicle and its location and repeats the deadline: "within 10 days."

So a Dixon landlord can be billed for a tenant's abandoned car. The part of the code we have shows only the notice. Call Dixon about hearing rights before day ten. Notice to remove a car lays out your options once one arrives.

Junking it yourself, or selling it in one piece

California allows owners without a dismantler's license to junk their own car, on conditions. First, before anything is unbolted, the owner asks DMV to record the car as Junk. Pull parts before filing, and DMV adds an investigative service fee. Recording a car as Junk also means surrendering its plates to DMV.

In an ordinary sale, standard plates generally remain on the car. Weighing both routes? Read part it out or sell it whole.

Who does what in a Dixon sale

• You sign the California title. Any lienholder adds a signature as well. California DMV's seller steps list no notary.
• Your buyer takes it to DMV, pays the $15 transfer fee, and has to report the new owner within 10 days.
• You finish within five days with REG 138, the "Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability," via dmv.ca.gov/nrl or by mail.

About smog: a Dixon seller usually owes a Smog Check, but California waives it when the car is sold to be wrecked or taken apart. A gas car four model years old or newer pays an $8 smog transfer fee in place of a test. Titles are a state DMV job, not a Solano County one. See California for more.

Towns near Dixon

Davis sits 8.8 miles away and Vacaville 9.9. Woodland is 16.0, West Sacramento 16.6, and Suisun City and Fairfield are 17.1 apiece.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008 with the car's make and model, mileage, if it turns over, and where the title stands. We come out to it, in a Dixon yard, a driveway, or a lot out near the fields.