Santa Cruz junk cars, from the 10-day notice to the scrap yard

What Chapter 6.28 covers

Acting under Vehicle Code 22660, the city council states that keeping "abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof on private or public property, not including highways," drags down property values, can "invite plundering," "create fire hazards" and make "an attractive nuisance" for children.

Note the words "not including highways." This chapter covers yards, driveways and lots. A car on a public road falls under other rules, explained below.

The order of events

1. Notice. Notice of intention to remove the car "shall be given not less than ten days prior to the removal."
2. The shortcut. That waiting period does not apply when "the property owner and the owner of the vehicle have signed releases authorizing removal and waiving further interest."
3. Hearing. Next, "the chief of police or his or her designee" can decide if the Santa Cruz car is abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative, have it taken off the property, and set the administrative and removal costs billed to the parcel's owner.
4. Disposal. Five days after the Santa Cruz council's order, the car can go to a scrap yard or dismantler.
5. No comeback. Once a Santa Cruz car is hauled off, it "shall not thereafter be reconstructed or made operable." Cars that qualify for historical plates or horseless carriage plates are the exception.

So the costs land on the parcel owner, and the car is gone for good. Selling it before step 1 avoids both.

Who is exempt

A car "stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer, a junk dealer," or when storage "is necessary to the operation of a lawfully conducted business," is outside the chapter.

On the street

Santa Cruz Chapter 6.28 reaches private and public property "not including highways." Vehicle Code 22669 handles the public right-of-way: officials can take away right then a car lacking parts such as its transmission, engine, doors, windshield, tires or wheels. A car being stripped at the curb can disappear faster than one sitting whole in a driveway.

Smog and California's air rules

Before a regular sale, the seller covers the Smog Check and gives the buyer a report no older than 90 days. In Santa Cruz, EVs and motorcycles need no smog check. Neither do diesels built in 1997 or earlier, gas cars built in 1975 or earlier, or gas and hybrid cars still in their first four model years.

A modified car is a separate problem. Vehicle Code 24007 covers a Santa Cruz car that fails Air Resources Board rules. It can be sold to a dealer, or sold to be legally wrecked or dismantled, and nothing else. The seller hands the Santa Cruz buyer a certificate of compliance or noncompliance. Cars sold to be pulled apart are also off the smog list. See modified or deleted.

Title paperwork, including the hard cases

In California the DMV handles titles, not Santa Cruz County. A Santa Cruz seller usually signs the title, along with any lienholder. The Santa Cruz buyer then hands it to DMV along with the $15 transfer fee. A Santa Cruz seller will not find a notary in the DMV seller steps.

• Title lost. Start with REG 227; one form covers both replacing and transferring.
• No title from the last owner. For a Santa Cruz car worth under $5,000, the DMV takes your proof of ownership and a REG 256 Statement of Facts, with no bond. From $5,000 up, a bond is required.
• Branded title. Salvaged marks accident, flood or vandalism damage and cars dismantled before. A car the DMV rules nonrepairable, such as a full burn or a surgical strip, stays off the road for good: no new title, no registration.

Junk car with no title goes through each case.

The last two steps

A Santa Cruz seller files REG 138, the release, within 5 days, online or on paper. Once the DMV logs it, tickets, moving violations and civil claims from after the sale fall on the buyer. When a Santa Cruz car is sold, its standard plates go with it. For a fee, a Santa Cruz owner can keep personalized or special plates for the next car.

Nearby towns

Santa Cruz covers 12.741 square miles. In straight-line miles, Watsonville is 14.9 away, Los Gatos 18.2 and Saratoga 20.3. See California for statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Contact us at (877) 421-6008 or online. Share the year and model, a rough odometer reading, if it cranks, and the title status. We come get it, whether it's in a Westside driveway or parked by the Boardwalk.