Selling a dead or junk car in Colorado Springs

A dead car on private property in the Springs

Oddly, the bluntest line is in the pest-control chapter. Section 6.12.404 says "junk or unlicensed vehicles must be removed from the property," listed beside rubbish piles and grass over nine inches.

Section 10.25.101 describes the follow-through. An inoperable or unlicensed vehicle that "is being maintained on property within this City in violation of this Code" gets hauled off by a private contractor the police department or another agency retains. The trigger is a request from the Code Enforcement Administrator, after the zoning code's procedures run.

Zoning also limits where a broken car can wait. A light repair shop's definition includes parking cars "awaiting service or pick-up, but excluding the storage of junk vehicles." If a repair bill has yours stuck there, see stuck at a repair shop.

Streets, city lots and the airport

Police may impound a car parked on a street, highway or alley in one spot, "or within one hundred feet (100') of that place, continuously for a period of seventy two (72) hours." Facing a business zone, the limit drops to 24 hours.

Another clause aims straight at breakdowns: any car "left unattended or parked on a street, highway, alley, roadway, or other public right-of-way that is an inoperable vehicle" may be impounded, with no waiting period written in. City lots and garages, and the Municipal Airport, allow 30 days.

After a Springs tow: a ten-day window

Section 10.25.105 lets the registered owner, a lienholder or an agent contest the legality of the tow and impound. The written request goes to Colorado Springs Municipal Court "within ten (10) days from the postmark on the notice." A car still in the lot gets its hearing inside 72 hours of the request, weekends and holidays not counted. A released car gets one inside ten days.

No probable cause means the city department behind the tow releases the car and covers towing and storage. Agents prove authority with "a power of attorney or a notarized letter" from the owner. Whether a cheap car is worth reclaiming at all is the subject of towed or impounded.

The Garden of the Gods Road office

El Paso County's Motor Vehicle Department works out of 1675 West Garden of the Gods Road, 80907, and answers at 719-520-6240. From downtown Colorado Springs it is roughly 6 miles west as the crow flies. Colorado county offices run under the elected clerk and recorder, set local hours, taxes and fees, and serve their own county's residents.

Colorado title rules for a dead car

Use the Seller section on the back. Your printed name and signature must copy the front's spelling, and each listed owner signs. Record the sale price, the date and, on 2011-or-newer models within 20 years, the mileage. A Springs seller will not see a notary step in the DMV's list. DR 2173, the state bill of sale, is recommended, and it becomes required when the price goes unrecorded on the title.

Branded titles add a form. Colorado brands include Salvage, Rebuilt from salvage, Nonrepairable and Flood damaged, and the owner must disclose the brand on DR 2710 before a sale. More at salvage title.

Two rules shape the car's future. Colorado never retitles a car it has classified junk, and nobody can title a car bought on a parts-only bill of sale.

Long-lapsed registration has its own quirk: once it is more than 13 months expired, renewal happens at the county office rather than online.

Plates and the five-day filing

Plates are the seller's property in Colorado; keep the buyer from leaving with them. A standard set can be returned to El Paso County or taken by a metal recycler, and a personalized set can be moved to a later car.

Five days is the deadline for Report Release of Liability, done in myDMV or at the counter. Have the plate number ready, along with the VIN or the code on your registration card.

Nearby

Fountain lies 13.1 miles away in a straight line, Castle Rock 35.5 and Pueblo 42.1. The Colorado page covers statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Tell us about the Colorado Springs car and we'll go from there. The truck can meet it on a west-side driveway, at a garage near downtown, or at the curb where it died.