La Quinta junk cars: the public-view rule and selling one

The public-view rule

Under Section 11.80.010, an "abandoned vehicle" means one that is "wrecked, dismantled or otherwise inoperative" and is "parked, stored, or left standing in public view upon a private or public property." It does not need to be on the street. A yard that neighbors can see counts.

The zoning code backs this up. Under Section 9.150.040, cars "may be parked in the front yards of residential properties provided that the area in which the car is parked or stored is a driveway." A dead car on the lawn does not meet that rule.

From notice to scrapyard

Section 11.80.050 sets the order of events:

• Notice. Once La Quinta finds a nuisance, a notice of intent to abate is served under Section 1.01.300 on the person who owns the land and the person who owns the car.
• Hearing or removal. If no request for a city manager hearing, or appeal to the city council, arrives in time, the car "may be impounded to a storage yard or may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard or automobile dismantler's yard."
• Entry. A city removal contractor may enter private property to take the car, to the extent the law allows.
• DMV notice. The DMV hears from the city no more than five days after removal, along with any registration card, ownership certificate or plates found.

After that, it "shall not be reconstructed or made operable unless it is a vehicle which qualifies for a horseless carriage license plates or historical vehicle license plates." The sections quoted here do not give the number of days on the notice, and the city may set that elsewhere.

Who pays

Section 11.80.060 lets the city put its costs on the land as a lien, "together with an additional twenty-five percent (25%) of the costs of abatement for inspection," plus administrative costs. A landowner is spared only if a hearing finds the car was placed there without consent and the owner never accepted it.

On the street

Under Section 12.28.150, a city police officer, a Riverside County sheriff's deputy or the California Highway Patrol can impound an illegally parked car, as long as signs give notice of removal. The towing and storage costs fall on the car's owner and the driver. Vehicle Code 22651 adds a state clock: three days (72 hours) at the curb in breach of a city ordinance can mean a tow.

California title and liability

In La Quinta, state law applies: abandoning a car on a road is illegal, and so is leaving it on someone else's land without permission. Fines start at $100, and proof of payment for the removal is required. A filed report of sale is your defense if a buyer abandons it later. In practice, that report is REG 138, due to the DMV within 5 days. You sign the title in the seller's space, and the buyer takes care of the DMV after that. Regular plates normally stay with the car. After you sell lists the final steps.

Nearby towns

Indio is 6.6 miles away as the crow flies, Coachella 8.2 and Palm Desert 8.4. Cathedral City is 17.2 miles away. State rules are collected on the California page. If the city or police already took the car, see towed or impounded.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in La Quinta? Ring (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. La Quinta driveways, side yards and garages are all fine for pickup.