Selling a junk car in Poway

The 10-day notice

Poway's abatement article reaches abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles on public or private property, "not including highways." Its core rule reads: "Not less than 10 days prior to any removal or disposal of a vehicle, a notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle as a public nuisance shall be issued." Notice can be skipped only when the landowner and the person who owns the car each sign a release.

The city also tells the DMV. "Notice shall be given to the Department of Motor Vehicles within five days after the date of removal," along with whatever registration evidence turns up: the registration card, the title, or the plates.

A licensed dismantler, licensed dealer or junkyard lawfully keeping a car on private land falls outside the Poway article.

Parts piles count too

Poway treats loose parts on their own. Chapter 8.80 bars accumulating junk "on the exterior areas of any lot which is not fully enclosed by a lawful building" unless it meets the storage rules. Those rules are specific:

• "All exposed junk shall be covered by an impervious fabric."
• "Junk shall not be visible from adjacent public rights-of-way, any street, and any area accessible to the public."
• It may not create odor, airborne dust or excessive noise for neighbors.

A tarp alone is not enough if the pile still shows from the street. Poway requires each junk or wrecking yard to hold a city license and to work indoors or behind a solid fence six feet high or taller.

Junking, smog and the title

If you strip the car yourself, California wants you to apply to record it as Junk before it is dismantled; dismantling first brings an investigative service fee. In Poway, reporting a car to the DMV as Junk means handing its plates back. Selling it whole skips all of that, and a car bound for the wrecker needs no Smog Check either.

Selling the whole car in Poway means signing the California Certificate of Title, with any lienholder signing as well. A notary is not among the DMV seller steps. San Diego County has no title office, so the paperwork goes through state DMV field offices or the mail. Poway sellers must get the REG 138 release filed no more than five days after the sale. Normal plates usually go with the car. See part it out or sell it whole.

North County and beyond

Santee is 9.4 miles away as the crow flies, Escondido 10.5, San Diego 12.3 and San Marcos 13.2. The California page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

To get an offer, ring (877) 421-6008 or send the request with details on the car and if the title is yours. Pickup is free anywhere in the US, so the truck can reach a home garage, a side yard or a repair shop.