Selling a dead or junk car in Salinas

What the ordinance covers

Section 20-126 builds on the power the state hands cities in Vehicle Code 22660. The council found that keeping "abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof on private or public property not including highways" tends to drag down property values, "promote blight and deterioration," invite plundering, start fires and endanger children.

The rule follows from those findings. Such a vehicle, or a piece of one, on private or public land, "except as expressly hereinafter permitted, is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated." Two phrases carry weight. "Parts thereof" means a stack of doors and an engine block in the yard counts, not only a whole car. And "not including highways" leaves curbside parking to other rules.

The ten-day window

Here is how Section 20-134 unfolds once Salinas mails its "notice of intention to abate and remove":

• Ten days to speak up. The vehicle's owner or the landowner can ask the chief for a public hearing.
• A landowner can disown the car. Per the code, a "sworn written statement denying responsibility" sent in that window "shall be construed as a request for a hearing which does not require his presence."
• Warning before the hearing. Notice goes "by registered mail, at least ten days before the hearing" to both owners, unless the car's identification numbers cannot be read.
• Silence means removal. With no request after ten days, the chief removes the vehicle.

At the hearing

Section 20-135 puts the chief of police in charge. The chief "may delay the time for removal of the vehicle or parts thereof if, in his opinion, the circumstances justify it," which is worth asking for if a buyer is already lined up. At the close, the chief can order the car removed and set "the administrative costs and cost of removal to be charged against the owner of the land." The written order has to identify the car, including its "correct identification number and license number" where they can be read.

A landowner who never wanted the car there is shielded. If it was "placed on the land without the consent of the owner of the land," and that owner has "not subsequently acquiesced in its presence," the costs are not charged to the property or chased from the owner.

Zoning: what a lot may hold

Salinas zoning adds its own layer. Section 37-50.190 lists the vehicles and equipment whose parking and storage it restricts, and the list opens with "Any inoperable vehicle, any vehicle, or equipment included in this subsection which are not legally registered to operate on a public street, or any dismantled portions thereof." So an unregistered car can become a zoning issue before anyone mails an abatement notice.

The same section has a test for motor homes and trailers. They "shall be junked or derelict when the cost of repairs to restore such vehicles to operating condition exceeds twenty-five percent of the replacement cost." That is a legal test, not a price.

When Salinas police order the tow

Police tows go to franchised operators. Section 20-176 says the franchisee is "to collect only the prescribed fee" and release cars "only upon the evidence of proper documentation." Section 20-192 lets the chief write the rules for the rotational tow list.

State law lets a car on a Salinas street be towed after three straight days breaking a local parking rule. Civil Code 3068.1 then hands the Salinas yard a possessory lien on the car. Civil Code 3072 lays out the sale when the law values a Salinas car at $4,000 or less. In Salinas the yard mails a lien sale notice first. The auction lands 31 to 41 days on, and you get 10 days to send in a Declaration of Opposition. More is on towed or impounded.

California title and plates

Title paperwork is handled by the state DMV. Salinas sellers can drop it at a field office or put it in the mail. A Salinas sale needs the seller to sign the Certificate of Title, plus any lienholder. The buyer pays the $15 transfer fee in Salinas. A seller following DMV's steps doesn't need a notary. Lost the title? Fill out REG 227 first, as selling with no title explains.

In Salinas, the seller has 5 days to get the REG 138 release-of-liability notice to DMV. You can do it online or by paper form. Regular Salinas plates go along with the car. If the Salinas buyer plans to wreck or take apart the car, you owe no smog check.

Nearby

Marina is 8.6 miles away, Seaside 11.1, Monterey 15.1 and Hollister 17.3. Statewide rules live on the California page.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Salinas? Call (877) 421-6008 or start with the offer form. If an abatement notice is already taped to the windshield, mention its date. Pickup can be from a downtown lot, a side yard, or a mechanic's bay where the repair did not pencil out.