Selling a non-running car in Temple City

When a car counts as inoperative

Section 4-2A-1 calls a vehicle "inoperative" if it is "mechanically incapable of being driven" or barred from the road under Vehicle Code sections 4000, 5202, 24002 or 40001, which cover plates, registration and equipment. The definitions in 4-2C-1 go further and list factors the city may weigh:

• "planned nonoperational" status with the DMV
• no current, valid registration
• no working engine or transmission
• missing wheels, inflated tires, doors or windshield

So a car parked under planned non-operation to save on fees can still read as inoperable to a code officer.

The 48-hour clock, then the council

Once the city manager decides a car qualifies, Section 4-2A-5 has the notice either handed to the occupant or fixed to the car. It must "prescribe a minimum of forty eight (48) hours" for removal. Should the car remain, Section 4-2A-7 sends the matter to the city council at a regular meeting, "in no event less than fifteen (15) days from the date stated on such notice." The council holds a public hearing and can charge removal and administrative costs against the property where the car sits.

Two parking rules that catch people

Section 4-2C-2 also lists two conditions that have nothing to do with whether the car runs:

• any vehicle parked or stored on an unpaved surface inside the front yard setback
• required parking spaces that are not kept "continuously free, accessible, and available" without moving other property

A dead sedan parked on grass out front can violate both together.

California paperwork for a Temple City car

Titles are Sacramento's business, not Temple City's. Sign the state title yourself, have any lienholder sign too, and the buyer then files it with DMV and covers the $15 charge. Not one of DMV's seller steps calls for a notary.

Smog testing is waived when a Temple City car goes off to be wrecked or dismantled. Normal plates usually remain on the car; once DMV records it as Junk, though, plates are turned in.

Within five days, send DMV the REG 138 release. Vehicle Code 5602 then shifts any parking ticket, moving violation or lawsuit dated after the sale onto the buyer. A car parked under planned non-operation is a separate matter: if no PNO was ever filed, DMV charges fees, with penalties, for every year the registration lapsed. After you sell and sitting for years cover both.

Nearby

Measured as the crow flies: San Gabriel and Arcadia are each 2.4 miles off, El Monte 2.5, Rosemead 2.7, Alhambra 4.7 and Baldwin Park 5.1. The California page has the statewide picture.

Getting an offer

Share model year, maker and model, running condition, and title status, online or at (877) 421-6008. Mention any city notice taped to the car. Pickup can happen from a Temple City garage, a driveway or the curb.