Encinitas: selling a junk or dead car

The 30-day line, and the five-car line

The same definitions section draws a second line. Five or more cars that have not run for over 30 days, "and from which parts have been or are to be removed for reuse or sale," are evidence of "an automobile wrecking yard." So stripping parts off a few dead project cars in a side yard can turn a storage question into a wrecking-yard question. A single car in the garage is outside both lines, because the 30-day test covers only cars that are not in an enclosed structure.

How the city takes a car away

Section 14.52.030 rests on the power Vehicle Code 22660 hands to cities. It reads: the City Manager "shall cause abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof to be removed as a public nuisance from streets, highways or private property." Step one is "A 10-day notice of intention," served under Vehicle Code 22661.

The bill is the part people miss. The City Manager may assess the costs "against the property upon which the vehicle is located and against the owner of the vehicle, who may be made jointly and severally liable." If a tenant, a roommate or a relative leaves a dead car on your lot, you as the landowner can share the cost of hauling it.

Out on an Encinitas street

Here the state's tow rule bites at three days. If a parked Encinitas car breaks a local parking ordinance by sitting 72 hours or longer, Vehicle Code 22651 allows a tow. Strip a car of its wheels or windshield and leave it on a public right-of-way, and 22669 lets an officer haul it off right away, with no waiting period.

Tow yards in California keep the car as security for their bill under Civil Code 3068.1. Civil Code 3072 covers a towed Encinitas car worth $4,000 or less. Encinitas lien sales take place 31 to 41 days after the notice is mailed. You get 10 days to send a written objection and bring in a judge. Our towed or impounded guide covers getting a car released.

The paperwork, Encinitas edition

The paperwork runs through Sacramento's DMV, not a city or county desk. To sell in Encinitas, the seller signs the California Certificate of Title, and so does any lender listed on it. The DMV's seller instructions don't mention a notary. Five days after you hand over the keys is the deadline for REG 138, filed on the DMV site or by post. Vehicle Code 5602 then shifts later parking and traffic tickets onto the buyer.

Plates normally go along with the car, but you can move a vanity plate to another car for a fee. If the Encinitas buyer means to dismantle the car, the smog test is skipped. The California page goes further.

Nearby

Carlsbad sits 5.6 miles off as the crow flies; San Marcos is 7.8 and Vista 9.7. Each has its own page, so use the one for the city where the car actually sits.

Getting an offer

Have an Encinitas car to sell? Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. We send a truck to wherever the car is: a garage by the coast, a side yard, or the shop where it broke down.