Laguna Niguel dead-car rules, and selling yours whole

Ten days in view

Section 11-14-11 lists as a public nuisance any "inoperative, abandoned, wrecked or dismantled vehicles or parts thereof present on any real property for a period in excess of ten consecutive days." The same section names the ways out:

• the car is "completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner," or it cannot be seen from a street or other property
• it sits on the lawful business lot of a licensed dismantler, dealer or junkyard

A dead car kept behind a shut garage door is fine. One on the driveway or a side yard the neighbors can see is on a ten-day count.

How the notice and hearing work

Laguna Niguel's Section 7-4-808 requires "a ten-day notice of intention to abate and remove," except when both the landowner and the car owner have signed releases. In Laguna Niguel, Section 11-14-108 has that notice mailed by registered mail to the landowner. It gives the landowner "ten days of the date of mailing" to remove the car. If nothing happens, the city removes it and bills its administrative costs to the landowner.

Inside that same window, a hearing can be requested from the chief of police. Under Section 7-4-810, the hearing officer can order the car removed, or "may delay the time for removal" when the facts justify it. When the car was left on your land without your consent and you never agreed to it, the code says those costs can't be charged to you.

Two more details from Section 11-14-114: getting in the way of city crews during an abatement is "a misdemeanor," and within five days of a removal the city reports the car to the DMV along with any registration, title or plates it found.

The curb is not a parking spot for it

Section 7-4-603 makes it unlawful to leave a vehicle "longer than 72 consecutive hours" on a street, highway or public lot. The car counts as still parked unless it moved at least 100 feet or the odometer rolled a tenth of a mile. Working on a car in the street is banned too, apart from a tire or an emergency repair to get it moved.

California title and plate steps

Laguna Niguel sellers sign in the seller's spot on the California title, and so does any lender with a recorded lien. The Laguna Niguel buyer files at the DMV and pays the $15 transfer. Nothing in DMV's private-sale instructions calls for a notary. No title? Start with REG 227 ($28), which handles replacement and transfer on one form.

Five days after the sale is your deadline for REG 138, DMV's release form. Filed on time, it shifts parking tickets and court claims dated after the sale onto the buyer. Ordinary plates go with the car. No smog inspection is required for a car that is handed off for wrecking or dismantling. The rest of the checklist is in after you sell, and statewide rules are on the California page.

Neighbors

Measured as the crow flies, San Juan Capistrano sits 3.3 miles off, Laguna Beach 3.6, Dana Point 3.7 and Aliso Viejo 3.8. California lets every city write an abatement ordinance, so go by the city where the car is parked.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the form. For a Laguna Niguel car, the short offer form covers what we need to know. We pick up wherever the Laguna Niguel car sits, such as a tract-home garage, a condo lot, or a shop that couldn't fix it.