Junk and dead cars in Walnut: the rules and the sale

State law on a public road

Walnut spreads across almost 9 square miles of hills, and a car that never leaves its spot gets noticed. Three state rules govern it on the street:

• Three days at the curb. A Walnut car left unmoved for 72 hours, breaking a local parking ordinance, may be towed (Vehicle Code 22651).
• Stripped cars. Under Vehicle Code 22669, an officer can tow a Walnut car from public right-of-way right away if it has no engine, transmission, a wheel, tires, a door or the windshield.
• Cars worth $500 or less. Under Vehicle Code 22851.3, Walnut usually tags the car with a notice 72 hours ahead of removal. Afterward the owner must hear within 48 hours, has 10 days to demand a hearing, and can lose the car to disposal 15 days after the notice. That $500 line only decides which procedure applies; it says nothing about what a car would fetch.

Years of lapsed registration

Plenty of cars behind Walnut garage doors stopped being registered long ago. Each unregistered year a Walnut car sat without a Planned Non-Operation (REG 102) adds DMV fees and penalties. Read car sitting for years before assuming the paperwork will be simple.

Selling under DMV rules

California runs titles through the state rather than the county. Any DMV field office takes them, and so does the department's mail box in Sacramento (PO Box 942869, 94269).

The title comes first. In Walnut, both you and any lienholder with a recorded loan put your names on the certificate. The DMV's private-sale steps for Walnut sellers never mention a notary. A lost title gets replaced with REG 227, which costs $28.

Smog is easier than with a running car. Usually the seller has to hand over a passing Smog Check. That rule doesn't apply when the Walnut buyer means to wreck or dismantle the car.

Then cover yourself. In Walnut, REG 138 must reach the DMV within five days. Walnut sellers can submit at dmv.ca.gov/nrl or mail in paper. After it's recorded, the buyer owns any tickets dated after the sale.

Plates normally stay mounted. Selling in Walnut but keeping your personalized or special plates? A fee puts them on your next car. Plates on a Walnut car recorded as Junk go back to the DMV.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Let us know what make and model it is, about what the odometer says, if it cranks, and how things look with the title. Free pickup anywhere in the US includes Walnut's hillside driveways and condo garages, and a car waiting at a repair shop works too. Diamond Bar and West Covina are each under 4 miles away; the California page has the state picture.