Selling a junk or dead car in West Sacramento

Seventy-two hours at the curb

Parked on a West Sacramento street, a dead car is on a three-day clock. Vehicle Code 22651 permits towing once it has stayed put for 72 straight hours or longer against a local parking rule. A stripped car may not get even that long. Section 22669 lets West Sacramento officers, or city staff they pick, haul away at once any car on a street or public road that is missing its transmission, wheels, tires, doors, windshield or engine.

Moving the problem elsewhere backfires. Under Section 22523, you can't abandon a car on a West Sacramento highway or on private property without permission. In West Sacramento the fine runs $100 or more, and you must show the tow bill was settled.

The side yard

What happens on private land is each city's call. Vehicle Code 22660 lets a California city pass its own ordinance declaring wrecked, dismantled, inoperative or abandoned cars a public nuisance, clear them off private or public ground, and charge back the cost. We couldn't find West Sacramento's version, so check with the city before assuming a dead car can stay.

When a tow yard is holding it

Civil Code 3068.1 gives West Sacramento tow and storage companies a possessory lien. In West Sacramento, Civil Code 3072 then covers cars worth $4,000 or under. Next, the West Sacramento yard sends a "Notice of Pending Lien Sale." Bidding happens 31 to 41 days after that. A West Sacramento owner who wants a judge has 10 days to mail back the "Declaration of Opposition."

Walking away does not end the debt. When an impounded abandoned car in West Sacramento goes unclaimed, the last registered owner gets an infraction citation and must pay what the lien sale left unpaid. Having a report of sale on file avoids this. Read towed or impounded before that lien clock runs out.

Title, smog and plates

California keeps titles with the state DMV, not with Yolo County. A field office takes the paperwork, and so does the mail. A West Sacramento seller signs the title. Any lienholder adds a signature too. After that, the $15 transfer fee is paid by the West Sacramento buyer when they hand it in. The DMV's seller instructions skip any notary.

Protect yourself in West Sacramento by filing REG 138, the state's release-of-liability notice, within 5 days. West Sacramento sellers who file online use dmv.ca.gov/nrl. With it on DMV record, Vehicle Code 5602 shifts later tickets and lawsuits to the buyer. A sale for wrecking or dismantling also removes the smog requirement.

Ordinary plates ride along with the car. If you apply yourself to have the car recorded as Junk, those plates get surrendered to the DMV instead. Missing the title? Start with selling with no title, and the wrap-up steps are in after you sell.

Getting an offer

For a West Sacramento car, call (877) 421-6008 or start with our form. Pickup works at a house near the port, an apartment lot, or a repair shop across the bridge in Sacramento, 4.4 miles off. Davis and Woodland have their own pages, and California holds the statewide rules.