Selling a dead or junk car in Denver

Inside a Denver impound hearing

Paperwork favors the city. A sworn statement of why the car was impounded is "prima facie evidence" of probable cause, provided the stated reason is a ground for impound under the Denver Revised Municipal Code or Colorado statutes. Cross-examining the impounding officer takes three moves: set the hearing, get the officer's name from the hearing officer, and obtain a subpoena from the same office.

Already paid to get the car out? Your proof is "the receipt from the Denver Impound Lot."

Section 54-903 lays out two results:

• For the city. If the car is still held, you may redeem it by paying everything on the notice plus whatever has accrued since. The hearing officer also warns that otherwise it will be sold or destroyed.
• For you. Redeem the car "within forty-eight (48) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, free of charges," or, if you already paid, collect a refund from the Denver Impound Lot.

For a car worth very little, reclaiming it may cost more than it is worth. Towed or impounded works through that decision.

How long a dead car can sit: Colorado's limits

Our research turned up no Denver section on storing an inoperable car. Denver may still have one we did not find, so confirm with the city before a broken car sits. State law draws these lines:

• public property: abandoned after 48 hours unattended, or past a local limit
• private property, with no consent from the landowner: a day or more, unless an ordinance says otherwise
• pulled off private land because the owner of the land asked: abandoned when nobody claims it in 48 hours
• a law-enforcement impound lot: abandoned once 72 hours pass after notice with no claim

Tow operators send certified notice to the owner and every lienholder inside 10 days. Between day 30 and day 60 after that postmark, the car may be sold. If an appraiser puts it at $350 or below, it goes only to junking, scrapping or dismantling, and the buyer gets no claim to a Colorado title. Repair shops work on a shorter fuse: under C.R.S. 38-20-116, five working days after the shop's final good-faith attempt to contact the owner. See stuck at a repair shop.

Keeping your own broken car at home while you fix it is allowed with the DR 2910 decal and its annual specific ownership tax. Skip that decal, and the Registration Fairness Act brings back registration fees due when the car is registered again.

Emissions when a Denver car changes hands

Metro Denver and the North Front Range are the two Colorado regions that test. Gas cars more than seven model years old are tested every two years, at $35 a test. Selling to a buyer who lives in a testing county means handing over a passing result never before used for a registration or renewal.

A dead car cannot pass. Even so, the DMV says an inoperable car may change hands in the testing area when certain criteria are met; sellers are asked to phone 303-205-5603. See failed emissions.

The Sheridan Boulevard office

Denver is a county unto itself. The motor vehicle office we checked is 3100 S. Sheridan Blvd., 80227, phone 720-865-4600, about 12 miles southwest of downtown Denver, measured direct. Hours and fees are local, and counties outside Denver will not handle a Denver resident's title.

Signing over a Colorado title

Write the owner's name on the Seller line just as the front shows it. Every owner listed must sign. Enter the price and date, and on cars from model year 2011, the mileage. The DMV's guidance does not ask Denver sellers to use a notary. When the title shows no price, you must use a DR 2173 bill of sale.

Missing the title? A sale cannot skip it in Colorado. DR 2539A brings a duplicate for $8.20. Where that fails, the county's Bonding for Title calls for a surety bond equal to twice the appraised value, with no bond for cars over 25. A car the state has classified junk stays untitled for good.

Plates and the release report

Colorado plates belong to the seller. Pull them off, and return standard plates to a county office or a metal recycler. A Denver seller then has five days to file "Report Release of Liability" on myDMV or at a counter. In Denver, you type in the plate number along with either the VIN or the registration's verification code.

Nearby

In straight lines, Aurora is 9.3 miles away, Commerce City 9.5, Englewood 10.0 and Thornton 11.4. The Colorado page has statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Tell us about your Denver car and we'll take it from there. Anywhere in Denver, we can pick up from an alley garage, a driveway or a shop lot.