Lafayette dead-car rules, and selling one whole

No Lafayette junk-car chapter in our reading

We didn't find an abandoned-vehicle ordinance in the Lafayette sections we read, so the city could still have rules we haven't seen. Vehicle Code 22660 allows a city to adopt one and charge removal costs back to the owner. Check with Lafayette before you assume there is no deadline.

Stuck in a park lot after hours

Section 11-413 confines parking in Lafayette parks to marked spaces. It bars leaving "an automobile during the hours the facility is closed without a permit," and says "the director may tow a vehicle parked in violation of this provision." A car that won't restart after an evening at the park can be gone by morning. Car doesn't run lists your choices.

State law covers the rest

• Street parking. If a Lafayette car stays put 72 hours straight in breach of a local ordinance, Vehicle Code 22651 allows a tow.
• Leaving it. Vehicle Code 22523 bars ditching a car on a road or on land you lack permission to use. Fines start at $100, and you have to prove someone paid for its removal.

Plates and a missing title

Regular California plates usually stay on the car through a sale. Plates you chose yourself, like personalized, environmental, special recognition and special interest ones, can go onto your next car for a fee. With no title, REG 227 comes first, filed at a field office or by mail. Expect a $28 fee and a replacement in your mailbox 15-30 days later. Selling with no title covers the rest.

Releasing your liability

In Lafayette, REG 138 goes to the DMV within 5 days. Post it or file through dmv.ca.gov/nrl. Once it's recorded, tickets and lawsuits from after the sale are the buyer's problem. California has every state step.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Lafayette? Call (877) 421-6008 or send us the form. Lafayette's neighbors with pages: Walnut Creek at 4.4 miles, Pleasant Hill at 5.0 and Martinez at 7.4.