Getting rid of a dead car in Madera

When that car needs to go, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits. Free pickup anywhere in the US covers Madera.

Two different clocks

The 120-hour rule covers ordinary parking. A car past that limit "shall be subject to removal" under the state Vehicle Code. The 72-hour rule is the strict one. It is "unlawful and shall be an infraction" to keep a junked or broken car on a lot, or to let one stay there. Section 4-8.14(B) adds a second infraction for refusing to remove the car once the city orders it.

What the notice says and who gets it

Under Section 4-8.08 there must be "not less than ten-day notice of intention to abate and remove." The city sends it registered or certified to the car's owner, and to the landowner when that applies. The city uses the last equalized assessment roll and the last registered and legal owners of record. The notice spells out hearing rights: the landowner "may appear in person at a hearing or may submit a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land."

Some situations change the timeline:

• No notice is required once both the landowner and the car's owner sign releases.
• A hearing has to be requested from the Police Chief or a designee within ten calendar days after the notice is mailed.
• Section 4-8.08(B) sets a separate path for a car that is "inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission, or wheels and is incapable of being towed." If one is removed that way, the owner gets notice before final disposal. The owner then has 12 days after that notice to claim it from the yard.

At the hearing

Under 4-8.09, the hearing officer can push back the removal date if the circumstances justify it. The officer may also call the car a public nuisance, order it taken away, and fix the costs the landowner pays. A landowner who never consented to the car being there, and never accepted it afterward, cannot be charged those costs.

Title and plates through the California DMV

Madera County runs no title office. California's state DMV field offices handle titles.

1. Sign the title in the seller's spot. A lienholder signs too, if there is one. At filing, the $15 transfer fee comes from the buyer. A notary is not one of the DMV's seller steps.
2. File REG 138 for the sale within 5 days, either at dmv.ca.gov/nrl or through the mail.
3. Standard plates generally stay attached to the car.
4. A car sold to be wrecked or dismantled needs no Smog Check.

A lost title is replaced with REG 227 for $28. If the car was already towed, the tow company holds a lien under Civil Code 3068.1. See towed or impounded.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Share the make, the year, the miles, if it can roll at all, and who the title is in. We can load it at a house, on a ranch road or at a repair shop. In a straight line, Fresno is 20.5 miles away, Clovis 24.3 and Merced 31.9. For statewide rules, see California.