Selling a dead or junk car in San Diego

If you would rather hand the problem off, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, including every corner of a city this large.

Why City Hall decides the driveway question

The state leaves this to cities and counties. San Diego and other cities and counties can pass an abatement ordinance under Vehicle Code 22660. It can call dead, wrecked or abandoned cars a public nuisance, remove them from yards, lots and streets, and charge back the cost. So the rule for a dead sedan on your own San Diego lot is written at City Hall, not in Sacramento. Until you have read the city's version, do not count on a car in your side yard being out of reach.

The street is where state law bites first

With about 1.4 million residents, curb space here is shared hard. Vehicle Code 22651 sets the outer limit: three straight days, 72 hours, parked against a local ordinance, and the car can be towed. A stripped car gets even less patience. If a San Diego street car has lost its engine, its transmission, a wheel or tire, a door or the windshield, Vehicle Code 22669 lets an officer clear it off the public right-of-way without waiting.

Low-value cars move on a compressed schedule under VC 22851.3. When the car is judged worth $500 or less, officers post a 72-hour warning on it first, a step skipped for $300-or-less cars pulled under 22669(d). The registered owner gets word of the removal within 48 hours. Once 15 days pass after that letter, San Diego may dispose of the car. A hearing has to be requested within 10 days.

What happens to a towed car you do not reclaim

Whoever stores a towed San Diego car holds it as security, which Civil Code 3068.1 calls a possessory lien. If the law values a San Diego car at no more than $4,000, CC 3072 governs the auction. San Diego holds the sale 31 to 41 days after mailing the pending sale notice. The owner gets 10 days to return the opposition form and have a judge hear it. Walking away does not erase the debt. VC 22523 holds the last name on the registration responsible for the infraction and for whatever the auction failed to cover, with one escape, a report of sale on file. Our guide to a towed or impounded car covers what to do before those dates arrive.

Smog in San Diego County

The DMV splits San Diego County by ZIP code. It is one of six counties listed as partly biennial for smog testing, on an appendix last revised in November 2011, so treat any ZIP list with caution. On an ordinary private sale the seller owes the buyer a passing Smog Check. A car headed for wrecking or dismantling escapes that requirement entirely, which matters when the engine will not even turn over.

Title, plates and the five-day notice

California has no county title clerks; the state DMV runs the field offices and also takes title paperwork through the mail in Sacramento. The seller signs the pink slip, plus the lender if one is still listed, and the DMV's published private-sale steps include no notary stamp. Lost the pink slip? REG 227 comes first and costs $28; see selling with no title.

Then, inside 5 days, tell the DMV the car is gone with REG 138, filed through the DMV's website or on paper. Once that record exists, a parking ticket written on a San Diego street the following week is the buyer's problem, not yours. Ordinary plates ride along with the car. Vanity and special-interest plates are yours to move to another car, for a fee. One exception: an owner recording the car as Junk turns its plates in to the DMV. After you sell walks through the rest.

Neighboring towns

Measured as the crow flies, La Mesa is about 7.1 miles away, Santee 8.0, Lemon Grove 8.4, El Cajon 9.5, National City 11.5 and Coronado 12.2. For the statewide picture, see California.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Our offer form handles the details on your San Diego car. Pickup happens at the car: a hillside garage, an apartment lot, or the repair shop that gave up on it.