Junk and non-running cars in Stanton

The city rule we couldn't read

Under Vehicle Code 22660, Stanton can pass an ordinance to remove "abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles" and charge the owner. So the length of any warning, and whether a dead car may sit in a Stanton side yard at all, depends on local law. Check with Stanton before you assume there is time.

State law on the street

• Three days. Once a parked car breaks a local ordinance by staying 72 hours or longer on a street, VC 22651 permits a tow.
• Stripped cars. Police may tow at once a car left on the public right-of-way without a motor, transmission, wheels, tires, doors or windshield (VC 22669).
• Low-value cars. VC 22851.3 covers an abandoned Stanton car worth no more than $500. Stanton gives 72 hours of posted notice on the car before removal, and lets the owner know no later than 48 hours after towing. Stanton can dispose of the car once 15 days have passed since that notice. A hearing must be requested within 10 days.
• Dumping it. Leaving a Stanton car on a street, or on land whose owner didn't agree, breaks VC 22523. Stanton fines you at least $100 and wants proof the removal was paid for.

After a tow

The Stanton tow yard holds a possessory lien on the car under Civil Code 3068.1. CC 3072 covers cars worth $4,000 or below. The Stanton yard's Notice of Pending Lien Sale puts the sale 31 to 41 days out. Owners get a court date if their Declaration of Opposition comes back within 10 days. With no report of sale on file, the last registered owner of an unclaimed Stanton car pays whatever the sale falls short. See towed or impounded.

Title, plates and smog

Titles in California come from the state DMV and its field offices, not from Orange County.

• Signing. Your signature goes on the title, and a listed lienholder signs as well. A notary isn't in the DMV's instructions for sellers.
• REG 138. It is due within 5 days. Stanton sellers can report the sale to the DMV online, or send it to Sacramento, CA 94259-0001, at P.O. Box 942859. It is your proof of sale if a buyer later dumps the car.
• Plates. Standard ones generally remain on the car.
• Missing title. Start with REG 227. If the usual ownership papers are gone and the Stanton car is worth under $5,000, DMV doesn't ask for a bond. For a Stanton car, it only asks for your ownership documents and a Statement of Facts (REG 256).
• Smog. Not required if the car will be wrecked or dismantled.

Back registration piles up too. Each unregistered year carries fees and penalties, unless the owner had filed for Planned Non-Operation. Our California page and junk car with no title have more.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or send the form. The form covers what we need about your Stanton car. We pick up from a Stanton carport just as easily as from a Garden Grove shop 2.4 miles away.