Selling a junk or dead car in Wildomar

The notice

Section 10.04.070 says that when the city finds such a car, "a 10-day notice of intention to abate shall be mailed by registered or certified mail, to the owner of the land and to the last registered and legal owner of the vehicle." The notice's own wording asks for removal "within 10 days from the date of mailing of this notice." Past that point the city takes the car and charges the landowner for removal plus administrative costs.

Wildomar drops the notice in two situations:

• Signed releases. The Wildomar landowner and the car's owner each sign a release that approves removal and gives up any further interest.
• A stripped shell. The car is "inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission or wheels" and cannot be towed, and other listed conditions are met.

Asking for a hearing

Under Section 10.04.080, the request must be "made in writing to the Code Enforcement Department within 10 days after the mailing of the notice." Landowners stuck with somebody else's wreck get a simpler option: a sworn statement denying responsibility, sent within that window, counts as a hearing request and "does not require the presence of the property owner."

Section 10.04.090 gives the hearing officer room. The officer may delay removal "if, in his or her opinion, the circumstances justify it." If the car showed up without the landowner's say-so and was never tolerated afterward, the officer "shall not assess costs of administration or removal" against the property. The removal order "shall include a description of the vehicle or part thereof and the correct identification number and license number of the vehicle, if available at the site."

Wildomar's Section 10.04.010 then permits disposal "by removal to a scrapyard or automobile dismantler's yard" at any of three moments: "Five days after adoption of the order," five days after mailing of a required decision notice, or "15 days after such action of the governing body authorizing removal following appeal."

Crash cars at a storage lot

Wildomar's definitions carve out one case. A car "wrecked in a traffic accident and which has been removed from the roadway to a lawful storage facility, but which has not been claimed by its owner, will not be considered an abandoned vehicle for the purposes of this chapter." The storage bill keeps running regardless. Civil Code 3068.1 grants Wildomar tow and storage companies a possessory lien. Civil Code 3072 governs any Wildomar car worth $4,000 or below. Within 15 days the lien sale begins. A Notice of Pending Lien Sale reaches you by mail, and the Wildomar auction falls on day 31 to day 41 after mailing. Wildomar owners who want a judge to decide send that "Declaration of Opposition" back inside 10 days. An abandoned Wildomar car left unredeemed sticks its last registered owner with any amount the sale doesn't cover. Having filed a report of sale gets that owner out of it. See towed or impounded and wrecked or totaled.

Closing out the sale

After a Wildomar sale, California's report of sale, REG 138, must be filed within 5 days. Once the DMV logs it, later tickets and lawsuits fall on the buyer. Your signature on the title completes your side; the buyer carries it to the DMV. Wildomar plates normally stay on the car. For a fee, an owner can shift personalized or special plates to another vehicle. After you sell covers the rest.

Nearby towns

In a straight line, Murrieta is 4.9 miles off, Lake Elsinore is 6.5 and Menifee is 6.6. Temecula is 11.3 miles away. Statewide rules live on the California page.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Wildomar owners can send their car through our offer form to get started. We can pick up at your house, a storage lot, or wherever the car ended up.