Selling a car that won't run in Brighton

Three ways a car is presumed inoperable

Section 10-8-30 lists them. A car is presumed inoperable if it:

• has been parked in the same location "for a period of thirty (30) consecutive days or more"
• is "not bearing current and valid license plates or other evidence of current and valid registration"
• is dismantled, damaged or missing equipment so that driving it would be "unlawful or unsafe"

The definitions in 10-8-20 add a fourth: any car "not capable of being promptly started and driven under its owner power."

The yard rule

Section 10-8-10 bans the outdoor storage of an inoperable car anywhere in the city not zoned for it. It is unlawful for the owner, or anyone in charge of the property, "to cause, permit or allow any partially wrecked, junked, inoperable or unlicensed vehicle or parts thereof to remain on such property." That covers tenants and occupants, not just owners. A pile of parts from a half-finished project counts too.

On the street

Away from posted limits, the code calls a car abandoned after "a continuous period of more than seventy-two (72) hours" at an unregulated spot. Moving it a few feet does not reset that: it must go "at least seven hundred (700) feet away" during the 72 hours. Section 10-6-10 separately bars parking on any city street without a valid, current license plate on display.

If the city impounds it

Section 10-8-50 lets police and city staff remove and impound a car that appears abandoned or inoperable. Under 10-7-20, the city manager sends certified-mail notice to the registered owner within 72 hours of the impound. For a car not registered in Colorado, or with a missing or altered plate or VIN, the notice need not meet that limit and may be posted instead. That notice says the car "will be sold" unless it is claimed and the removal and storage charges are paid in full within 30 days of the mailing date. Our towed or impounded guide covers the choices.

Adams County title and Colorado plates

The Adams County motor vehicle office we checked is in Brighton itself: at 4430 S. Adams County Pkwy., Suite E2001, phone 720.523.6010. In a straight line, it sits roughly 3 miles southwest of downtown. In Colorado you use your home county's office. If you live in Weld County, you go to Weld.

On the title's back, sign in the Seller section with your name spelled as it is on the front. All owners listed must sign. You need a bill of sale when the title doesn't show the price. Take the plates off. Standard plates can be dropped at the county office or a metal recycler. Next, submit "Report Release of Liability" on myDMV within 5 days.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Brighton? Ring (877) 421-6008 or start with the form. We send a truck to the spot where it sits, from a side street near City Hall to a farm lot or a garage bay. Nearby pages cover Commerce City and Thornton; for statewide rules see Colorado.