Getting rid of a dead car in San Dimas

San Dimas's abandoned vehicle rule

San Dimas has an abandoned vehicles chapter in its municipal code. San Dimas mails a notice to the landowner and another to the car's owner. It tells the landowner to remove the car "within 10 days from the date of mailing of this notice." If not, the car "will be abated and removed by the City of San Dimas," with the costs, "together with administrative costs, assessed to you as owner of the land."

San Dimas lets the landowner or the car owner request a public hearing "within 10 days after the mailing of this notice of intention." They send it to the community development department. The hearing officer decides both the removal and who pays.

If removal is ordered, the car may go "to a scrapyard or automobile dismantler's yard" ten days after the order. If the code calls for the decision to be mailed, the ten days start on the mailing date. If there's an appeal, it's fifteen days after the city council decides. Horseless carriage or historical plates are the only way out in San Dimas. Otherwise a removed car "shall not be reconstructed or made operable," the code says. DMV must be told within five days after removal.

La Verne, 2.4 miles away, gives landowners the same ten days.

The bill that comes with a long-parked car

Owners of a long-parked car tend to forget DMV, not the city. If nobody filed REG 102 for Planned Non-Operation, DMV adds up fees and penalties across every lapsed year. Look up the record first, so the back fees do not surprise you. Sitting for years goes further.

No title, or no paperwork at all

If a San Dimas title is lost, stolen or ruined, REG 227 gets a new one. In San Dimas, bring it to a DMV office or send it by mail. DMV charges $28 (VC 9265), and the new title typically shows up 15 to 30 days later. The same form also handles a transfer, so a missing title does not block a sale.

Value sets the path when ordinary ownership proof is missing. At $5,000 or above, DMV requires a motor vehicle bond. No bond is required for a San Dimas car valued under $5,000. San Dimas sellers include a REG 256 Statement of Facts with the ownership papers. It names the person they got the car from, gives its value and confirms no liens. See selling with no title.

Before you pull a single part

DMV wants the owner's Junk application filed ahead of any dismantling; pulling the car apart first adds an investigative service fee. A car stripped to the shell can also cross into nonrepairable status under VC 431, and a nonrepairable car "can never be titled or reregistered." That is one reason to weigh parting it out against selling it whole.

Signing it over

Sign California's title, have any lender sign, and let the buyer file it with DMV along with $15. DMV's seller instructions never mention a notary. Cars bound for a wrecker or dismantler skip smog testing. Regular plates usually stay put, though DMV collects them once the car is recorded as Junk. San Dimas sellers get REG 138 to DMV within five days of the sale.

Nearby towns

As the crow flies: La Verne 2.4 miles, Glendora 3.4, Pomona and Covina 4.4 each, Claremont 5.5 and Walnut 5.6. For the whole state, see California.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form. List model year, maker and model, odometer reading, running condition, and whether you hold the title or still need REG 227. Pickup happens wherever the car sits in San Dimas.