Selling a junk car in Milpitas

The notice comes by certified mail

Section XI-13-5.05 has Milpitas mail "A 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle" by certified mail, one copy for the property owner and one for whoever owns the car. The property owner's copy gives the deadline: removal "within 10 days from the date of mailing of this notice". Miss that window and Milpitas takes the car itself, billing the landowner for the work "together with administrative costs".

Inside those same 10 days you may ask for a hearing, which in Milpitas goes before the City Council (Section XI-13-5.06). Notice of the hearing date is mailed at least 10 days beforehand. With no request, the car can be removed and no hearing is held. At the hearing, the Council "may delay the time for removal" if it thinks "the circumstances justify it" (Section XI-13-5.08).

If the car is not yours, a landowner can file "a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle" within the 10 days. Milpitas reads that statement as a request for a hearing, one you need not attend. Our abandoned car on your property guide covers that situation.

Front yards and driveway repairs

Section V-500-2.01 lists nuisances visible from a public right-of-way, including "abandoned, broken or neglected vehicles". It also bars parking on a lawn or other surface in a residential front yard, unless the car sits on a paved driveway to a required parking space or a paved RV space. Washing or waxing on the lawn is allowed for no more than six consecutive hours.

Taking parts off in the open is covered too. The same section names "dismantling of any motorized or non-motorized vehicle" outside a garage where it can be seen from the right-of-way.

If it gets towed

Under Section V-100-12.09, a car parked against the chapter on a street, or in a lot at a City park, can be removed by order of any police officer, provided signs give notice. The tow truck comes from a list the Chief Police Officer designates. Storage is at a designated place "nearest to the place where said vehicle was unlawfully parked or standing."

One small detail for permit streets: a residential parking permit stays "valid until the vehicle is sold", then it is void and has to come off the car (Section V-100-12.14).

The state's part

Milpitas sellers file with the California DMV, not the county. Sign the Certificate of Title. The DMV's private-sale instructions don't mention a notary. Once the car is sold, REG 138 is due inside five days, filed online or mailed to DMV in Sacramento. No title in the drawer? REG 227 comes before anything else.

If you sell it for scrap, smog stops being an issue. A car sold for dismantling doesn't need a Smog Check. Most regular plates go with the car to the next owner. You can pay a fee to keep personalized ones. See after you sell for the rest.

Getting an offer

Milpitas is 13.481 square miles of land, with Fremont 5.1 miles away, Santa Clara 6.3, Sunnyvale 8.1 and San Jose 10.4. Reach us at (877) 421-6008, or send the form describing the car and saying if the engine still runs. Statewide rules are on the California page.