Selling a dead or junk car in Lemoore

Fourteen days, a garage, or a six-foot fence

Section 4-4-4 lists conditions that break Lemoore's property standards. One is keeping an "inoperative trailer, camper, boat or other watercraft, motor vehicle or parts thereof on private property for a period in excess of fourteen (14) consecutive days, unless stored within an entirely enclosed garage or screened by a minimum six foot (6') high solid fence."

Lemoore's list also covers parking a car, or pieces of one, beside or ahead of a house, "unless parked on a paved driveway or screened from view by a minimum six foot (6') high solid fence." So a dead car on the lawn is a problem from day one.

The 30-day misdemeanor

Section 6-5-3 makes it "unlawful and a misdemeanor" to leave a vehicle "which is in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative condition upon any private property or public property not including highways within the City for a period in excess of thirty (30) days." Refusing to haul one away after a city order is a misdemeanor too.

The abatement chapter does not apply to a car "completely enclosed within a building" and out of sight, or to one kept lawfully at a licensed dismantler, a dealer, or a junkyard (6-5-4).

When the city takes over

Section 6-5-4 calls for a public hearing on two questions: should the car be removed, and should the costs land on the parcel it occupies? After an order, the car can be disposed of five days later, or 15 days after the council authorizes removal following an appeal. Then, within five days of the tow, Lemoore's police chief, or someone the chief picks, reports it to the DMV along with any registration, ownership certificates or plates recovered.

A stripped car gets a faster track. No notice of intention is required for a vehicle "inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission, or wheels and incapable of being towed" and valued under $200, if the city finds it an immediate threat. That $200 is the code's yardstick for value, not what anyone pays. Owners still get notice and 12 days to claim it before final disposal.

On the street

Section 6-4-4 says no one may park a car "upon any street or alley for more than seventy two (72) consecutive hours in any thirty (30) day period." Some streets are posted for no parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Under 6-4-13, police may remove a car left past the 72 hours without the chief's approval.

Junking it yourself versus selling it

California lets an individual who is not a licensed dismantler junk a car. First, though, you apply to the DMV to record it as Junk. Dismantling before that application adds an investigative service fee, and once the Lemoore car is recorded as Junk, its plates return to the DMV.

Selling the car whole is simpler. You sign the title, plus any lienholder, and Lemoore sellers will find no notary step in the DMV's instructions. REG 138, the release-of-liability notice, then has to reach the DMV inside five days, by its website or by post. A Kings County buyer keeps the ordinary plates with the car. And a buyer who plans to wreck or dismantle it spares you the smog check. The California page has more.

Hanford is 8.3 miles away as the crow flies, Corcoran 19.7 and Selma 21.7. See Hanford, Corcoran and Selma for their rules.

Getting an offer

Have a Lemoore car to sell? Call (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. The truck meets the car behind the fence or under the carport where it now sits.