Selling a dead or junk car in Santa Clarita

No plates, no registration, no excuse

Santa Clarita's nuisance definitions spell out what an "inoperable and/or unregistered/unlicensed vehicle" is. It covers any car "mechanically incapable of being driven," and any car barred from the road under four Vehicle Code sections: 4000 (unregistered), 5202 (failure to display a license plate), 24002 (unsafe condition or improper equipment) and 40001. So a Canyon Country sedan with a healthy engine, stale tags and an empty plate bracket still qualifies.

The 12.80 timeline

Section 12.80.060 lets the officer act "upon discovering the existence of an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle, or parts thereof, on private property or public property within the City." From the notice of intention:

1. A 10-day hearing window. The vehicle owner or landowner may ask within 10 days of the notice's mailing date, and the City Manager or a designee holds the hearing (12.80.080).
2. A landowner who denies responsibility. Mailing a sworn written denial inside that window works as the request, and the landowner can skip the hearing itself.
3. No request. Then the city can take the car with no hearing.
4. Disposal. A car may be disposed of five days after an order, or ten days after a hearing decision is mailed or a final appeal decision is made.

Licensed dismantlers, licensed dealers and junk dealers are exempt from this chapter, as are businesses where the storage is needed for lawful operation.

Low-value abandoned cars

California handles abandoned cars worth $500 or less on their own path. A notice goes on the Santa Clarita car 72 hours before it is towed away. That notice is skipped for a car valued at $300 or less removed under subdivision (d) of Vehicle Code 22669. Within 48 hours of the tow, the agency must tell the owner. A Santa Clarita owner who wants a hearing must ask within 10 days. Disposal can happen once 15 days pass. Those dollar amounts are thresholds written into the statute, not prices.

Title, plates and a lost title

The state DMV, not Los Angeles County, issues titles for Santa Clarita cars. A Santa Clarita seller signs the title, and any lienholder on the car signs it too. Then the buyer turns it in with the $15 fee. The DMV's seller steps need no notary. Inside five days, send REG 138, by web or by mail, so the release of liability is on record. Plain plates go with the car. When a wrecker or dismantler buys the Santa Clarita car, smog is skipped.

Lost the title? Santa Clarita owners start by filing REG 227, which costs $28, by mail or at a DMV office. The DMV says the new one takes 15 to 30 days to come. Junk car with no title covers the options, and the California page has the statewide picture.

San Fernando is 9.6 miles from Santa Clarita as the crow flies, Simi Valley 17.5, Burbank 18.5 and Glendale 21.8. Their pages: San Fernando, Simi Valley, Burbank.

Getting an offer

Send the form or call (877) 421-6008. Send us a few lines about your Santa Clarita car on the form. A sloped Canyon Country driveway, a garage or a shop in town all work as a pickup spot for our truck.