Commerce City dead and junk cars: rules and selling

What counts as inoperable

Section 6-1001 reaches well past wrecks. Commerce City counts all of these as inoperable:

• "any competition vehicle, regardless of condition"
• a car or trailer without a current plate and validation sticker
• a car "not capable of travel under its own power in its existing condition"
• anything that would be unlawful to drive on public streets as it is

The only exceptions in Section 6-2005 are licensed collector's items stored as state law requires, and vehicles "stored and kept within a completely enclosed building." A carport or a tarp is not on that list.

The public right-of-way

Section 11-41 sets out when the city treats a vehicle sitting in a public right-of-way as abandoned. One test is condition: a car left unattended that "lacks currently valid license plates," has flat tires, or is so damaged "that it has value only for junk or salvage." The other is time: "seventy-two (72) consecutive hours or more" unattended. A car with current registration that can legally be driven may stay at the curb next to the owner's home under conditions the section spells out. A dead car does not qualify.

Cars that police or an owner placed in an impound lot become abandoned if nobody collects them within three days, counted as 72 hours from the notice that release is available.

After a tow

The city's land development code limits how long impound yards hold cars: "no vehicle may be stored in an impound yard in excess of 90 days," except by court order or for a police investigation. State rules fill in the rest. Ten days is the deadline for the tow operator to mail certified notice to the owner and lienholders, and the window for selling the car opens 30 days after that postmark and closes at 60. Appraised at $350 or under, a towed car can go only to junking, scrapping or dismantling, on paperwork that gives the buyer no right to a Colorado title. More in towed or impounded.

Stuck at a shop

Commerce City's standards for vehicle repair businesses say "The storing or keeping of inoperable vehicles on the property is strictly prohibited," and cars waiting for repair must sit in approved spaces, never taken apart outside. State law adds that a repair shop may treat a car as abandoned five working days after its last good-faith effort to reach the owner (C.R.S. 38-20-116). When the shop's estimate dwarfs what the Commerce City car is worth, decide early; see stuck at a repair shop.

Adams County title and Colorado rules

Commerce City is in Adams County, and Colorado has owners take title work to their own county. The Adams County office we checked is 4430 S. Adams County Pkwy. in Brighton, Suite E2001, phone 720.523.6010. As the crow flies, that is about 3 miles north of central Commerce City.

To sell, Commerce City owners sign the title's Seller section on the back and print their names, matching the front letter for letter, with each listed owner signing. Write in the price, date and miles. Nowhere do the DMV's seller steps list a notary. A DR 2173 bill of sale is best practice, and the buyer then has 60 days to title the car before late fees start.

Keep your plates, since they belong to you. Commerce City sellers file "Report Release of Liability" on myDMV within 5 days. After that, how the buyer uses the car isn't on you.

Getting an offer

Got a Commerce City car to sell? Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in our form. We can collect it at a house, a repair shop, or an impound lot once it's released to you. Brighton is about 6 miles from Commerce City and Thornton about 8; for statewide rules, see Colorado.