Selling a junk or dead car in Modesto

Thirty days leaves room to plan the exit. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, so you sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

The council's reasons

Section 4-7.1901 rests on Vehicle Code 22660. It finds that stored wrecks create "a deteriorating environmental condition that if ignored and allowed to grow will damage and eventually ruin the security, health and economic vitality of a business district or a neighborhood." Such a car "is declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated."

Notice, releases and hearings

Under Section 4-7.1908, the landowner and the car's owner each get "not less than a ten (10) day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle," by registered or certified mail. The one the landowner gets says: "You are hereby notified to abate said nuisance by the removal of said vehicle (or said parts of a vehicle) within ten (10) days from the date of mailing of this notice, and upon your failure to do so, the same will be abated and removed by the City of Modesto."

A shortcut exists. No notice is needed where "the property owner and the owner of the vehicle have signed releases authorizing removal and waiving further interest in the vehicle."

Section 4-7.1909 runs the hearing:

• Requests go to the Police Chief within ten days of mailing, and "a public hearing shall be held by the City Manager or his/her designee."
• "The hearing officer shall determine the administrative costs and costs of removal of the vehicle, or parts thereof, to be assessed against the property on which it is located."
• A landowner's sworn denial of responsibility in that window "shall be construed as a request for a hearing which does not require the owner's presence."
• Hearing notice is "mailed, by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least ten (10) days before the hearing."
• Without a timely request, the city may act "without holding a public hearing."

Visible from the sidewalk

Section 9-9.509 targets conditions "visible from the street, sidewalk, alley or public right-of-way." One entry covers hazards "for inquisitive minors" and names "abandoned refrigerators and motor vehicles" outright. Storing vehicles against the zoning code is on the list as well.

Oversized rigs get their own street rule. Section 3-2.2006 forbids leaving "any oversized vehicle or trailer on any street in a residential area Monday through Fridays, inclusive, holidays excepted." Exceptions allow loading or cleaning up to 72 hours and "temporary or emergency repairs" capped at 24 consecutive hours.

Brands a California title can carry

A Modesto car's California title can carry one of seven brands: Grey Market, Original/Prior Police, Original/Prior Taxi, Park Trailer, Remanufactured, Salvaged, and Warranty Return (Lemon Law Buyback). Salvaged is the catch-all for crash, flood and vandalism losses and for cars once dismantled; flooding gets no brand of its own.

Total loss has no percentage test here. Vehicle Code 544 defines total loss salvage as damage the owner or insurer judges too costly to fix, and the title is swapped for a salvage certificate. Nonrepairable status under Vehicle Code 431 is harsher: surgical strip, complete burn, or an owner's declaration that the car is parts or scrap only. Such a car is barred from titling or registration for good. See salvage title and wrecked or totaled.

Smog in Stanislaus County

Every Smog Check program area requires certification when ownership changes, gasoline cars four or fewer model years old aside. Also exempt are EVs, motorcycles, gas cars from 1975 or before, and diesels from 1997 or before. The one that matters for a junker is that cars sold for wrecking or dismantling are exempt outright.

Does a Modesto car fail Air Resources Board rules? Then Vehicle Code 24007 allows only two buyers: a dealer, or someone who will legally wreck or dismantle it. A certificate of compliance or noncompliance goes to the buyer at delivery. Failed already? Try failed inspection.

DMV steps for a Modesto seller

The state DMV handles California titles at field offices and by mail.

• Signatures. Seller and lienholder sign; the buyer then pays the $15 transfer fee when submitting it. DMV's seller-step list carries no notary.
• Lost title. REG 227, $28.
• Plates. Regular plates normally stay on the car. An owner who applies to junk a car personally surrenders the plates to DMV.
• Release. State law requires notice to DMV within five days of a sale or disposal. Recorded, it moves later parking and traffic violations to the new owner.

The California page covers the rest.

Ceres, Riverbank, Turlock and others

Ceres is the closest, 3.3 straight-line miles, with a ten-day rule of its own. Riverbank sits 6.9 miles off, Turlock 12.0, Oakdale 12.1 and Patterson 13.9.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. The form walks a Modesto seller through what we need to know. Pickup can come to a Modesto driveway, an apartment lot, or a downtown shop.