How to get rid of a dead car in Oakdale

What Oakdale treats as a nuisance

Sections 18-13 and 18-14 declare that "the presence of an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle or part thereof, on private or public property not including highways" is a public nuisance. The council wrote its reasons into the code: blight, falling property values, fire hazards, and a danger to children who climb on old cars.

Some cars are outside the article. Oakdale's Section 18-15 exempts a car that is "completely enclosed within a building" and hidden from the street and the neighboring lots. It also exempts cars stored lawfully by a dismantler, dealer or junk dealer holding the right license, or by a business that needs them to operate.

The steps once the city acts

A public hearing comes first. When it wraps up, the city administrator may rule the car abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative, call for its removal, and fix what the removal and administrative costs will be. Those costs are charged "against the owner of the parcel of land," so a tenant's dead car can end up on the landlord's bill.

A scrapyard can take the car five days past the order, or five days past the mailing of the decision notice if one has to be sent. Within another five days, the city tells the DMV which car it removed. Section 18-15 also says the article "is not the exclusive regulation" of these cars in Oakdale, so other city rules may apply as well.

Tow trucks and the street

Section 18-60.70 has the chief of police keep an "abandoned rotation list" of towing operators who have agreed to haul away abandoned vehicles under the Vehicle Code. If nobody joins it, Section 18-60.80 puts every operator on the general rotation list on call for those jobs. On public streets, state law lets a tow follow once a car has stayed "72 or more consecutive hours" in breach of a local parking rule.

Paperwork for an Oakdale sale

There is no county title counter here; California runs titles through state DMV field offices. You sign the title as seller. The DMV's instructions bring in a notary just once: section 5 of REG 227, when its records list a lienholder. A plain title signing has no notary step listed.

Five days is your window to send REG 138 after the car leaves. After DMV logs the sale, the buyer answers for any tickets or civil claims on the car from the sale date on. A car going to a dismantler needs no smog certificate. Regular plates stay put on the car. Personalized or special plates can be shifted to a different car for a fee.

Nearby towns

In a straight line, Riverbank sits 5.9 miles off. Modesto is 12.1 miles and Ceres 13.1. The California page has the statewide rules, and non-running car covers a car that will not start.

Getting an offer

Reach us online or at (877) 421-6008 about an Oakdale car. The truck goes to it, on acreage outside town or in a carport near downtown.