San Francisco junk cars: public health, 72 hours and selling whole

What the city calls an abandoned car

Sec. 5.2 defines "abandoned vehicle or vehicle parts" broadly. It includes cars "missing any equipment that would make them unsafe to operate on the highway," cars "that are wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative," and cars believed abandoned under Vehicle Code sections 22660 and 22669. So a car does not have to look deserted. A sedan with a smashed windshield that hasn't moved in months fits the first two.

The director's authority "includes the authority to enter upon private property or Public Property," to "examine vehicle(s) or vehicle parts," to identify them, and to remove the ones declared a nuisance.

The 10-day notice

Sec. 5.5 sets the steps. The health department sends its notice of intention, registered or certified, to two people: the San Francisco property owner shown on the county assessment roll, and whoever DMV records list as the car's registered and legal owners. The property owner's letter says: "You must abate the nuisance by removing the vehicle and/or vehicle part(s) within 10 days from the date of the mailing of this notice."

The vehicle owner's letter carries a warning for whoever left the car there. If a hearing finds "that the property owner has not consented to the presence of the vehicle," the vehicle owner is "responsible for the cost of abatement, and may be assessed a fine for violation of California Vehicle Code Section 22523," unless they show "by a police report or other evidence" that it was stolen before it was abandoned. If a former tenant or relative left a dead car on your property, that hearing is how the cost moves to them.

Street parking: 72 hours, and posted limits on top

Sec. 7.2.29 is short: "No person shall park or leave standing any vehicle on any public street or highway for more than 72 consecutive hours." That applies citywide, even on blocks with no signs.

Where time limits are posted, Sec. 7.2.30 adds its own penalty: "Each hour or portion thereof that a vehicle is Parked in violation of this Section shall be a separate and distinct offense," with caps in yellow zones and no more than two citations in 12 hours. A car that will not start on a metered or time-limited block can collect tickets quickly. On Port property, Port Code Sec. 5.2 allows towing where signs warn that cars parked there may be removed.

After a San Francisco tow

Civil Code 3068.1 lets the tow operator hold onto the car until the towing and storage bill is paid. Then Civil Code 3072 applies if the law puts the San Francisco car's value at $4,000 or less. First a lien-sale notice is mailed. San Francisco auctions follow 31 to 41 days on. A written objection filed within 10 days sends the matter to a court. Those amounts are legal tests, not a car's market value.

A car nobody redeems leaves its last registered owner exposed under Vehicle Code 22523, both to an infraction and to whatever the auction fails to cover. The exception is a seller who already reported the sale. That report is the REG 138 below, and it is the most useful thing a San Francisco seller can file.

Two narrower rules exist. Police Code Sec. 5609 has officers impound a car used in a sideshow for 30 days. And Planning Code Sec. 223(l) lets a towing operation count as a parking lot only if it stores no inoperable vehicles "except those which are temporarily inoperable awaiting repair within 48 hours." Our towed or impounded guide covers getting a car back.

Title and plates for a San Francisco seller

The city runs no title office of its own. The state DMV handles titles. From San Francisco, take it to a field office or post it to PO Box 942869 in Sacramento.

• Your signature: San Francisco sellers sign the seller's line on the California title, with a lienholder's signature beside it when a loan is recorded. The DMV's private-sale instructions have no notary step. The buyer turns the title in, pays the $15 transfer fee and owes the DMV a report within 10 days.
• No title: Start with REG 227. DMV's fee is $28. In San Francisco, expect the new title by mail about 15 to 30 days afterward. See selling with no title.
• Your deadline: REG 138, five days after the sale, either through the DMV's online release form or on paper. After that, Vehicle Code 5602 makes the San Francisco buyer answer for later parking tickets, moving violations and lawsuits tied to the car.
• Plates: Regular plates usually stay on the car. Vanity and special-interest plates belong to the San Francisco owner, who can pay a fee to move them onto another car.
• Smog: No smog test is required when the buyer will take the car apart.
• Old registration: Years the car sat unregistered are billed with penalties, unless REG 102 put it on Planned Non-Operation at the time.

The California page has the rest of the statewide rules.

Nearby

Daly City, San Bruno, Pacifica and Millbrae have their own pages, as do San Rafael and Novato. Pick the page for the place where the car is parked.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or fill out the form. Start with the offer form for your San Francisco car. Our truck can reach a garage under a house, a steep block, or the shop that couldn't fix it.