Selling a junk or dead car in El Monte

One day to fix it in view

Section 8.44.030 lists as a nuisance any repair or dismantling on residential property "where such activity can be seen from the public right-of-way." The exception is when the work, and the cleanup of tools, fluids, rags, parts and debris, is finished "within one day after the repair or dismantling was begun." The code also wants the car to be "owned or leased by, and registered to, a person that permanently resides at the premises," with short emergency fixes allowed. "Abandoned motor vehicles" are on the same list of nuisances. Thinking about a home part-out? Read part it out or sell it whole.

El Monte's removal process

Chapter 8.08, El Monte's abatement law, rests on Vehicle Code Section 22660. It says it "is not the exclusive regulation" of dead cars in the city, so other sections can apply too.

El Monte's Section 8.08.050 has the hearing notice sent by certified mail "at least ten (10) days before the hearing." It goes to the landowner shown on the county roll and to "the last registered and legal owner of record." The California Highway Patrol also gets notice. After an El Monte Hearing Officer orders the car removed, a scrap yard or dismantler may take it "Ten (10) days after the order declaring the vehicle or parts thereof to be a public nuisance becomes final." The DMV gets word "Within five (5) days after the date of removal."

Towed off an El Monte city lot

Section 12.36.040 lets El Monte police or the Parking Control Authority remove a car "illegally stored, abandoned, or creating a hazard" from a posted municipal parking lot. Getting it back may cost a city release fee, set by the council under Section 2.68.040. The fee can be waived for theft victims and others with good cause. Towed or impounded covers what comes next.

El Monte seller paperwork

In El Monte, title paperwork is handled by the California DMV at a field office or through the mail. The El Monte buyer turns in the Certificate of Title once you and any lienholder have signed it. You won't find a notary step in DMV's instructions.

Send REG 138 within five days so that tickets after the sale date go to the buyer. Junked cars are spared the Smog Check. Ordinary plates usually stay with the car, though DMV takes them in once the car's record is changed to Junk. After you sell lists the rest.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or ask online. Tell us what you're selling, its rough mileage, whether the engine catches, and what shape the title is in. The truck can come to a screened back yard or a garage in El Monte. Temple City is 2.5 miles away and Rosemead 3.1. Statewide rules are on California.