Selling a junk or dead car in South Lake Tahoe

Three ways a car qualifies

Section 4.45.010 defines what the chapter covers. Any one of these is enough:

• "A vehicle which is inoperative or otherwise wrecked or dismantled"
• a car whose condition or location makes it an attractive nuisance or a hazard, or that is "sufficiently 'unsightly' as to reduce the value of adjoining property or interfere with the quiet enjoyment of adjoining property"
• "A vehicle with expired registration for more than six months"

The same section pins down inoperative: a car that is "wrecked, junked or inoperative, or from which any part has been damaged or removed for a period of seven days or more so as to render the vehicle inoperable under its own power." A project car with its engine on a stand for more than a week fits that wording.

Why the council calls it a nuisance

Section 4.45.040 lays out the council's reasons. Stored dead cars, it found, "reduce the value of property," invite plundering, "create fire hazards," lure children as an attractive nuisance and shelter rodents. It added that they often break zoning rules, "particularly where such vehicles are maintained in the required front or side areas of residential property." The conclusion: storing them, except as the chapter allows, is "a public nuisance, which may be abated."

Who acts on it

Under Section 4.45.090, once the enforcement officer spots such a vehicle "on private property or public property within the city," the officer has "the authority to cause the abatement and removal thereof." The notice and hearing steps come later in Chapter 4.45. The sections we read do not state their deadlines, so if a notice lands on your car, ask the city for the timeline in writing. All of this rests on Vehicle Code 22660, the state law that lets each city set up its own abatement program.

Smog in El Dorado County

El Dorado County is one of six on the DMV's list where smog rules depend on the ZIP code, a list marked revised November 2011 and so possibly out of date. With a junker this hardly comes up. California skips the smog check on a South Lake Tahoe car the buyer will wreck or dismantle.

A car parked unregistered at altitude carries a second cost. A South Lake Tahoe car left unregistered racks up DMV fees and penalties every year. Filing REG 102 for Planned Non-Operation stops that. Car sitting for years covers the rest.

Title and plates

California runs titles through its state DMV, so there is no El Dorado County title desk to find. Paperwork can go to a field office or by mail. The seller signs the title, plus the lienholder if one exists. Then the buyer submits it. In South Lake Tahoe, the DMV's seller steps never mention a notary. A South Lake Tahoe seller who wants later tickets to go to the buyer mails the release-of-liability notice, REG 138, within 5 days. Standard plates stay put on the car.

Getting an offer

Got a dead car in South Lake Tahoe? Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. Pickup can happen at a cabin driveway, a lodge lot or a shop off the main road. Our closest other pages are a long way down the mountain: Folsom at 65.1 miles and Rocklin at 68.8. California covers the statewide rules.