Junk and dead cars in Riverside

What Riverside calls abandoned, wrecked or dismantled

Section 9.28.010 declares that such a vehicle "on private or public property, except as expressly hereinafter permitted, is declared to constitute a nuisance." The council's findings give the reasons: these cars "promote blight and deterioration," "invite plundering" and "create fire hazards." The definitions are brief:

• Abandoned: left "in such inoperable or neglected condition that the owner's intent to relinquish all further rights or interest in it may be reasonably concluded."
• Dismantled: "partially or wholly disassembled."
• Wrecked: damaged so badly "that it cannot be operated upon the highway."

One carve-out matters after a crash. A car "wrecked in a traffic accident" that went to a storage facility and was never claimed "will not be considered an abandoned vehicle for the purposes of this program." The state's tow-lien rules, further down, handle that one.

The ten-day notice and the hearing

Absent those releases, 9.28.080 has Riverside send its ten-day letter by certified mail, one copy to whoever holds the land and one to whoever holds the car. The land copy reads: "You are hereby notified to abate said nuisance by removal of said vehicle (or said parts of a vehicle) within ten 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 Riverside and the costs thereof, together with administrative costs, assessed to you as owner of the land on which said vehicle (or said part of a vehicle) is located."

Section 9.28.090 handles objections:

• Riverside's hearing requests go to the Code Enforcement Manager in the Community & Economic Development Department, and must arrive inside ten days from mailing.
• A landowner who files "a sworn written statement denying responsibility" in time gets a hearing "which does not require his presence."
• The hearing date travels by certified mail "at least ten days before the hearing."
• Miss the window and the city may act "without holding a public hearing."

When even the notice is skipped

A stripped car can skip those ten days. Section 9.28.080 says the notice "is not required for removal of a vehicle or part thereof which is inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission, or wheels and incapable of being towed," when an appraiser recognized by the state puts its value under $200 and Riverside finds it a public nuisance. Should registration turn up, owners hear first, and "if the vehicle or part is not claimed and removed within 12 days after the notice is mailed," disposal can proceed.

Riverside's $200 line decides when the city may cut a corner. It has nothing to do with what a buyer would pay.

Repair shops: a 30-day limit

Cars that quit at a Riverside garage face a zoning limit too. Section 19.420.030, the standards for vehicle repair businesses, states: "Inoperable vehicles shall not be stored on the property longer than 30 days." The same section requires: "All repair work shall be conducted within an enclosed building or shall be fully screened by a minimum six-foot-high decorative masonry wall." Stuck at a repair shop explains getting a car released.

Riverside curbs and state law

Chapter 9.28 stops at private and public property; Riverside's curbs answer to Sacramento as well. Vehicle Code 22651 lets Riverside tow a car parked three days against a local parking rule without moving. $500 or under is the value line in Vehicle Code 22851.3. Riverside must post a notice on an abandoned car at that value 72 hours before it gets removed. Cars at $300 or below removed under 22669(d) can skip that step. A tow notice is mailed to the owner within 48 hours. Once 15 days pass from the notice, disposal is allowed. The tow operator may then keep the car until paid (Civil Code 3068.1). For a Riverside car the law values at no more than $4,000, the sale must get started within 15 days.

An impounded car nobody claims still follows its last registered owner. If the Riverside auction falls short, Vehicle Code 22523 puts the rest on that person. A report of sale filed before then gets them off the hook. File REG 138 the same day the car leaves Riverside.

Paperwork for a Riverside sale

• Title. Riverside title work goes through the state DMV, at a field office in person or by mail. In Riverside the seller signs on the seller line. If a lienholder is listed, they sign as well. The buyer then files the title and pays DMV's $15 transfer charge. No notary shows up in DMV's seller steps.
• No title. REG 227 comes first. Expect a $28 fee and a mailed title in 15-30 days. No bond is required when the usual proof of ownership is missing and the car is valued under $5,000. Riverside owners without a title bring the DMV a REG 256 Statement of Facts and whatever ownership papers remain. See selling with no title.
• Smog. Selling a Riverside car for wrecking or dismantling skips the smog certificate, even though some Riverside County ZIP codes are on the DMV's partial-biennial list.
• Plates. Ordinary plates stay put on the car. Recording the car as junk means sending them back to DMV.
• Release of liability. REG 138, inside 5 days. In Riverside, the online route is dmv.ca.gov/nrl. Riverside paper filings use P.O. Box 942859 at the DMV in Sacramento, CA 94259-0001.
• Lapsed registration. If a car sat for years with no Planned Non-Operation filing (REG 102), fees and penalties pile up.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Riverside? Fill in the form or call (877) 421-6008. We can pick it up from a Riverside driveway, an apartment complex lot or a mechanic's yard. Jurupa Valley and Norco have pages of their own; California covers the state.