Selling a junk car in Lakewood

The state's clock for a cheap abandoned car

Most older cars in Lakewood come under Vehicle Code 22851.3, the rule for abandoned cars worth $500 or less. The number is a legal test, not a price. Lakewood tags a car with a 72-hour notice before towing it. In Lakewood, a car removed under 22669(d) and worth $300 or less gets no notice at all. Owners hear within 48 hours after the tow. Lakewood owners get 10 days after the notice to ask for a hearing. Disposal can follow when that notice is 15 days old.

At the curb, things move faster. In Lakewood, Vehicle Code 22669 lets a stripped car on public right-of-way, like one lacking an engine, wheels or windshield, be removed at once, skipping the 72-hour wait. See missing parts.

Pushing it onto someone else's lot backfires. Under VC 22523, abandoning a car in Lakewood costs at least $100 in fines, and you must show you paid to have it removed.

What "junk" means to the DMV

For Lakewood sellers, the DMV treats a car as junk once it has been dismantled after a wreck, abandonment or breakdown. Timing matters if you planned to strip parts in a Lakewood garage first. DMV wants the Junk application before any dismantling, and pulling the car apart ahead of it adds an investigative service fee. An individual needs no dismantler's license to junk a car. With the Junk application, the car's plates get handed back to the DMV.

Selling the car whole skips all of that. It leaves in one piece, ordinary plates normally stay on it, and junk transfers carry no smog inspection.

Paperwork that went missing

Lakewood cars that sat for years often lack a title, or have one in a relative's name. The DMV sorts that by value. For a Lakewood car worth $5,000 or more with no normal proof of ownership, DMV requires a motor vehicle bond. Below $5,000 there is no bond. Instead, a Lakewood owner sends any ownership papers with REG 256. This Statement of Facts tells DMV how the car was acquired and its value, and that no lien is owed on it. A title that is simply lost is replaced with REG 227. See car not in your name.

With the title in hand, sign as seller; nothing in the DMV's seller instructions calls for a notary. The state DMV processes it, not Los Angeles County. Next, REG 138 goes in within five days of a Lakewood sale, at dmv.ca.gov/nrl or by paper form.

Getting an offer

Lakewood spans 9.394 square miles between Bellflower, Cerritos and Long Beach, and pickup works anywhere in it. Lakewood owners can call (877) 421-6008 or use the form to start. The California page has the statewide rules.