San Mateo: selling a car that's dead or junk

San Mateo's own rule: Section 7.16.041

San Mateo's municipal code has its own definition of a dead car. Section 7.16.041 says an inoperative vehicle is "a vehicle that cannot operate safely or legally upon the streets or highways of the state." The term "includes any vehicle that does not have current valid registration." For a motor vehicle, it also covers one "that is then not capable of self-propulsion." So a car that will not start, or one with lapsed registration, fits the city's definition even if it looks fine. The section defines the term. It does not state its own clocks, notice periods, cover rules or penalties, so check with San Mateo before you count on any date for a car parked in a driveway or yard. State law backs the city here: under Vehicle Code 22660, San Mateo may treat wrecked, dismantled, inoperative or abandoned cars as a nuisance on private and public land, and may recoup its costs.

The street rules that do apply

An intact car can stay on a San Mateo street up to 72 consecutive hours before Vehicle Code 22651 allows a tow where a local ordinance is broken. Walking away from it is worse. Under Section 22523, a car can't be abandoned on a San Mateo street, or on private land without the owner's approval. In San Mateo the penalty is a fine of $100 or more, along with proof the removal bill was paid.

When a tow yard holds the car

Civil Code 3068.1 grants the tow and storage company in San Mateo a possessory lien. $4,000 or below is the legal value cutoff in San Mateo. Under it, the yard has 15 days to begin the lien sale. Storage charges at a San Mateo yard can run up to 60 days, or 120 in some cases. San Mateo owners see the sale 31 to 41 days after a mailed Notice of Pending Lien Sale arrives. In San Mateo, mailing back the "Declaration of Opposition" within 10 days gets the owner a court hearing. Never reclaiming an abandoned car can leave you owing what the sale does not cover, unless you filed a report of sale. See towed or impounded.

Wrecked San Mateo cars and the Salvaged brand

In California, a total loss isn't set by any percentage. Vehicle Code 544 calls a San Mateo car total loss salvage when the insurer or owner decides fixing it costs too much to be worth it. From there, the San Mateo title is swapped for a salvage certificate. Flood, crash or vandalism, the printed brand is the same word, Salvaged, since California has no flood brand of its own. A car declared nonrepairable (a surgical strip, a complete burn, or owner-declared parts or scrap only) "can never be titled or reregistered." More in wrecked or totaled and salvage title.

Handing over the title

Your signature on the California title, joined by any lienholder's, completes your side; the DMV lists no notary for it. REG 138 follows within five days, filed online or mailed. Plates issued as standard generally remain on the car, though personalized or special ones may be moved for a fee. A wreck sold for dismantling needs no smog test.

Getting an offer

Have a car to sell in San Mateo? Call (877) 421-6008 or use the offer form for your San Mateo car. Collection can be from a San Mateo street, an apartment garage or a collision shop. Nearby pages cover Foster City, Belmont, Burlingame and San Carlos. The California page has the statewide rules.