Selling a dead or junk car in El Cajon

Before a tow, there is a simpler route: we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, from a carport near Main Street to a lot at the edge of town.

The lien begins with storage

Civil Code 3068.1 gives a tow or storage company a possessory lien over the car sitting in its yard. Value then decides the route. At $4,000 or below, CC 3072 applies, and the yard must begin the sale process within 15 days after the lien arises; storage can be claimed for 60 days, stretching to 120 in some situations. Above $4,000, the process moves to CC 3071. Both dollar figures are legal dividing lines, not what any buyer pays.

The mailed notice and your 10 days

CC 3072 has the yard mail out word that a lien sale is pending, with the auction scheduled between day 31 and day 41 after mailing. To get a judge involved, return the Declaration of Opposition within 10 days; otherwise the auction proceeds.

Cheap abandoned cars move faster. Under Vehicle Code 22851.3, a car valued at $500 or less may be disposed of 15 days after its owner is notified, and a hearing has to be asked for within 10 days. The towed or impounded car guide walks through each choice.

Why the auction may not settle it

VC 22523 treats abandoning a car as an infraction, and it reaches past the auction. When an abandoned El Cajon car sits unclaimed in impound, its last registered owner answers for any gap between the sale proceeds and the bill. A report of sale on file is the exception, which is why REG 138 is worth filing even for a car you are glad to see go.

Selling it yourself first

El Cajon sellers work with the state DMV, at a field office or by mail. Put your signature on the title, with a lender's if one is listed there; the DMV's private-sale steps contain no notary. File REG 138 online or on paper inside 5 days. After that, fresh tickets and civil claims go to the buyer. Ordinary plates remain with the car, and a car sold for wrecking or dismantling skips the smog test. What a junk car is worth covers what shapes the value.

Towns around El Cajon

Measured as the crow flies, Santee is about 4.0 miles away, La Mesa 4.2, Lemon Grove 6.4, San Diego 9.5, and National City and Chula Vista both 12.4. For state rules in one place, see California.

Getting an offer

If the car is still in your hands, call (877) 421-6008 or start online. Share the model year, make and model, its miles, if it fires up, and how the title looks. The truck meets it in a driveway, an apartment space or the shop that could not fix it.