Selling a dead or junk car in Los Angeles

The city's abandoned-vehicle chapter

Administrative Code Chapter 19.90 reaches "any abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle which is kept, stored or accumulated or maintained on private property or on public property (except highways) owned by the City of Los Angeles." It applies when the car "contributes to neighborhood blight and deterioration," creates a fire hazard or a hazard to minors, or shelters "rodents, insects and other pests."

Three situations fall outside it:

• a car "completely enclosed within a building or structure" and not visible from the street or neighboring property
• a car kept lawfully at a licensed dealer, a licensed dismantler or a junk yard
• a car "temporarily stored or parked" at a garage or repair shop

The chapter also says it "is not the sole and exclusive enactment" the city has for these vehicles. The sections we reviewed name no day count before a car qualifies. State law gives the city that power (Vehicle Code 22660), so other city rules may apply on top.

Industrial lots need an 8-foot wall

In the M2 light industrial zone, "used materials and equipment" includes vehicles "which are inoperable, wrecked, damaged or unlicensed, i.e. not currently licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles." Open storage there needs a solid masonry wall or solid fence "not less than eight feet in height" with matching gates. That is the setting for a dismantling yard. It is not a fix for a backyard.

Dead cars on LA streets

Los Angeles can tow under state law once a car breaks a local ordinance by sitting still for three days, meaning 72 hours or more. Los Angeles Section 80.77 allows police officers and Department of Transportation traffic officers to take such cars to a garage or another safe place. When the owner can be found from registration records, notice goes out right away. When the owner can't be found and the car isn't returned within 120 hours, the officer files a report describing the car, when and where it was taken, and where it is stored.

After a tow: liens and the 31-to-41-day window

A towed car carries the tow yard's possessory lien; Civil Code 3068.1 creates it. At $4,000 or less in value, that lien runs through Civil Code 3072. For a Los Angeles car, timing runs from the day the yard mails its "Notice of Pending Lien Sale," and the sale has to land between day 31 and day 41 from then. An owner who mails back the Declaration of Opposition within the 10 days can make the case go to court. Those dollar figures are statutory cutoffs, not prices.

If no one claims an abandoned Los Angeles car, Vehicle Code 22523 hands the last registered owner an infraction and any shortfall from the sale. The only way out is a report of sale already on record, so file it the same day you sell. Impounded car has more.

Smog, title and plates in Los Angeles County

Smog first. Under BAR rules, any California change of ownership, Los Angeles included, needs a Smog Check. Several Los Angeles cars are off BAR's list, such as a gas car from the four newest model years. Across Los Angeles County, just one ZIP code, 90704 on Catalina Island, sits outside the program, according to a DMV ZIP list last revised in November 2011. Cars bound for a wrecker or a dismantler skip the inspection everywhere.

Paperwork next:

• Title. An LA seller puts a signature on the California Certificate of Title. A lienholder, if any, adds theirs. The buyer pays $15 when handing it in. Nowhere in the DMV's seller steps is a notary mentioned.
• REG 138. Five days is the window for the release of liability, filed on the DMV website or sent by post.
• Plates. An ordinary LA plate set generally rides with the car. Personalized and special sets can follow you to another vehicle for a fee.
• Back fees. Each unregistered year adds fees and penalties for a Los Angeles car, except years covered by a filed Planned Non-Operation (REG 102).

DMV field offices are state-run, and the California page and after you sell cover the rest.

Neighboring cities

Culver City is 1.2 miles from Los Angeles as the crow flies, Beverly Hills 4.2, Santa Monica 5.0 and Inglewood 5.8. Their pages: Culver City, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Inglewood.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Los Angeles? Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. From a Valley carport to a tight spot behind an apartment building, our truck goes to the car.