Junk and non-running cars in Imperial

When you would rather sell than wait, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits. There is free pickup anywhere in the US.

What state law does on the street

These rules hold in every California city, Imperial included:

• Three days. An Imperial car left in one street spot for 72 hours or more, where a local ordinance bans it, can be towed under Vehicle Code 22651.
• Missing parts. Vehicle Code 22669 allows an officer, or an assigned city or county worker, to remove a car believed abandoned from an Imperial street or from public or private land. If an Imperial street car is missing key parts, such as its engine, wheels, doors, tires, windshield or transmission, it can be towed at once.
• Low-value cars. Under Vehicle Code 22851.3, an abandoned Imperial car worth $500 or less must carry a posted warning for 72 hours before it is removed. Imperial drops that step when 22669(d) applies to a car worth $300 or less. After a tow, Imperial lets the owner know within 48 hours. The owner can seek a hearing inside 10 days, and disposal may follow 15 days from the notice.

Those dollar amounts are legal tests for the tow, not prices for the car.

Why the release of liability matters here

Ditching a car on someone's land in Imperial without their consent breaks Vehicle Code 22523 and costs at least $100. When an abandoned car sits impounded and no one redeems it, the owner still on record commits an infraction. That person is also liable for any deficiency left after the lien sale.

The protection is REG 138. After an Imperial sale, send it to the DMV by post or through dmv.ca.gov/nrl. It is due in 5 days. After it is on record, Vehicle Code 5602 makes the new owner answer for parking and traffic violations, and civil suits, that arise after the sale date. The same filing protects you if the buyer later abandons the car.

Selling the car: title, plates, smog

• Title. In California, titles go through state DMV field offices rather than a county counter. You sign the certificate, along with a lienholder if there is one. In Imperial, the buyer takes care of the filing and the $15 transfer fee, and no notary is part of what the DMV asks of sellers.
• No title. REG 227 replaces a lost title for $28 and also works for the transfer itself. See junk car with no title.
• Plates. Ordinary plates normally stay on the car. If you instead apply to have the DMV record the car as Junk, you turn the plates in to the DMV.
• Smog. An Imperial car headed for wrecking or dismantling needs no Smog Check.
• Back fees. Each year an Imperial car sat unregistered adds fees and penalties, unless REG 102, a Planned Non-Operation, covered that year. See car sitting for years.

Getting an offer

Imperial car owners can call (877) 421-6008 or use the offer form. Pickup works from your driveway or a shop. Measured in a straight line, El Centro is 3.7 miles from Imperial, Brawley 10.0 and Calexico 11.5. For statewide rules, see California.