How fast can a cheap abandoned car disappear from a Lompoc street?

Vehicle Code 22851.3 sets it. Step one in Lompoc is a 72-hour warning on any car valued at $500 or less (skipped for cars of $300 or less removed under 22669(d)). After a Lompoc tow, notice reaches the owner within 48 hours. In Lompoc, you get 10 days to request a hearing. Disposal may follow 15 days after that notice.

My title is gone. When will a new one arrive?

REG 227 goes in person or by mail, with a $28 fee. The DMV says the mailed copy usually shows up in 15 to 30 days.

The car was never put in my name. Can I still deal with it?

Often, yes. No bond is needed if the car is valued under $5,000 and you can't get the normal proof of ownership. Lompoc owners bring DMV their proof of ownership. A REG 256 Statement of Facts goes with it, naming the seller, giving the car's value and stating no lien exists.

Town guide · California

Lompoc junk cars: the 15-day clock and the missing title

State law lets Lompoc dispose of an abandoned car worth $500 or less 15 days after the owner is notified. Vehicle Code 22851.3 sets that clock, after a 72-hour warning on the car and a notice within 48 hours of the tow. In Lompoc, where we found no city code online, those state deadlines are the ones you can count on. If the car is already a write-off to you, we buy whole non-running and junk cars, and you can sell the whole car as it sits.

Updated October 11, 2026 · 8 sources

Photo: Mona Eshaiker · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Lompoc, the short version

Population: 43,315 (Census estimate, July 2025)
County: Santa Barbara
Junk-car rules: Based on state law; Lompoc could add an ordinance
Abandoned car worth $500 or less: 72-hour notice on the car before removal
Disposal: 15 days from the owner notice
Replacement title: REG 227, $28
Release of liability: REG 138 within 5 days

The low-value timeline, step by step

We couldn't find Lompoc's code posted online, so this part is based on state law. Section 22660 of the Vehicle Code leaves room for a Lompoc ordinance too, so the city may have extra rules.

Here are the Vehicle Code 22851.3 steps for an abandoned Lompoc car valued at $500 or less:

72 hours of warning. A notice goes on the car three days before it can be towed. Lompoc waives it for a car removed under 22669(d) that is valued at $300 or less.
48 hours after the tow. Within two days of removal, the owner must be told.
10 days to object. A hearing can be requested inside that window.
15 days to disposal. Counting from the notice, the car may then be disposed of.

So a cheap, dead car parked in the wrong place does not have long. Moving or selling it before the first notice keeps the choice with you.

When the title is the problem

A lot of junk cars sit because the paperwork is missing, not because nobody wants them. California has a route for each case.

Lost or damaged title. Lompoc owners use REG 227 for either case. The form is called "Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title." Lompoc owners can mail it or drop it at an office. For a Lompoc car, the replacement title costs $28 under Vehicle Code 9265. Most of the time it arrives by mail in 15 to 30 days. For a Lompoc car with a legal owner or lienholder on the DMV record, Section 5 must be notarized.

No title from the last owner. Below $5,000 in value, and with normal ownership evidence out of reach, no bond is required. Mail DMV the Lompoc car's ownership papers you hold. Include a REG 256 Statement of Facts explaining how it came to you, its value, and that no lien sits on it. Expect a motor vehicle bond at $5,000 or more.

Junk car with no title and car not in your name go further.

Signing, mailing, and the plates

Titles here are handled by the state DMV, not Santa Barbara County. With a clean title, the seller and any lienholder sign, and the buyer files it. Lompoc sellers will see no notary step in what the DMV asks of them.

REG 138, the release of liability, has its own mailing address: DMV, P.O. Box 942859, Sacramento, CA 94259-0001. Online filing works as well. Either way, it is due within 5 days. Regular plates remain with the car in a normal sale. Statewide rules are on our California page.

Nearby

Measured point to point, Santa Maria lies 18.7 miles off and Goleta 38.2.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or use the form. Give the model year, make, about how many miles, whether it will crank, and whether you hold a title, have one on order, or have neither. Free pickup anywhere in the US covers a car off Ocean Avenue or out past the edge of town.

Questions people ask

How fast can a cheap abandoned car disappear from a Lompoc street?: Vehicle Code 22851.3 sets it. Step one in Lompoc is a 72-hour warning on any car valued at $500 or less (skipped for cars of $300 or less removed under 22669(d)). After a Lompoc tow, notice reaches the owner within 48 hours. In Lompoc, you get 10 days to request a hearing. Disposal may follow 15 days after that notice.
My title is gone. When will a new one arrive?: REG 227 goes in person or by mail, with a $28 fee. The DMV says the mailed copy usually shows up in 15 to 30 days.
The car was never put in my name. Can I still deal with it?: Often, yes. No bond is needed if the car is valued under $5,000 and you can't get the normal proof of ownership. Lompoc owners bring DMV their proof of ownership. A REG 256 Statement of Facts goes with it, naming the seller, giving the car's value and stating no lien exists.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

California Vehicle Code 22851.3 (low-value abandoned cars) california.public.law
California Vehicle Code 22660 (local abatement ordinances) california.public.law
California DMV: Title transfers and changes dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: Registration fees dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: Junking a vehicle (individual) dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: License plates dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: REG 138 Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability dmv.ca.gov
U.S. Census Bureau city population estimates, 2020-2025 www2.census.gov