Selling a junk car in Temecula

Temecula's state-law floor

• Curbs. Three days running on a Temecula street, against a local parking rule, and Vehicle Code 22651 makes the car towable.
• Stripped cars. In Temecula, Vehicle Code 22669 allows peace officers and designated city or county staff to take a car they believe is abandoned off a highway or public or private land. Missing an engine, transmission, wheels or windshield while in the public right-of-way? Removal can be immediate.
• Cheap abandoned cars. Vehicle Code 22851.3 sets out three steps for a Temecula car worth $500 or less. A notice goes up 72 hours before removal, with exceptions for some cars worth $300 or less. Within 48 hours of the Temecula tow, a letter goes to the owner. Then there are 10 days to request a hearing. When 15 days have passed since that notice, the Temecula car can be disposed of.
• Dumping. In Temecula, abandoning a car on a highway, or on private property where the owner never agreed, falls under Vehicle Code 22523. A Temecula owner faces a fine of $100 or more and has to show proof of paying for removal.

If a tow yard ends up with it

Civil Code 3068.1 lets tow and storage companies hold a car until they're paid. With a car worth $4,000 or less, they have to start the sale process within 15 days. Storage fees can add up for as long as 60 days, sometimes 120. Civil Code 3072 then has them mail a sale notice setting the auction 31 to 41 days later; sending back the opposition form inside 10 days gets a judge involved.

Owners who never come back still owe. If no report of sale is on file yet, Vehicle Code 22523 makes the last registered owner of an unclaimed impounded Temecula car pay any auction shortfall.

Smog and Riverside County's ZIP list

DMV places Riverside County among six partial-biennial smog counties split by ZIP code, on a list stamped revised November 2011. None of that applies to a Temecula junk car. Selling it to be wrecked or dismantled drops the smog rule.

Title and plates

The state DMV handles Temecula title paperwork, by mail or at a field office. Put your name on the seller line and hand the title to the buyer. The buyer does the filing, and a notary isn't in DMV's instructions for sellers. Missing the title means REG 227 first, at $28. Missing the ownership records on a Temecula car valued under $5,000? For a Temecula car, DMV asks for no bond. A Temecula owner mails in whatever ownership papers are left, together with a REG 256 Statement of Facts.

Ordinary plates stay on the car, but junk recording sends them to DMV. Use REG 138 to report the sale within 5 days.

Getting an offer

Temecula sellers can reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the offer form. Pickup works at a Temecula home, a community lot or a repair shop. Murrieta is 6.5 miles off; Wildomar and California have more.