Selling a junk or dead car in Englewood

Where a dead car may sit

The rule in 15-9-1 comes down to three places:

• A garage. A car may be stored "in a fully enclosed garage or similar structure."
• The back or side yard, once. One car, not on grass, and "screened from view of adjacent properties and public rights-of-way."
• Keep it off the front lawn and the street. The code bars anyone from doing this: "store or work on any inoperable motor vehicle on a grass surface within the front yard," and the same goes for public property or a right-of-way. Brief stops for loading or transport are allowed.

Responsibility is shared. The code names the owner of the car "as well as the occupant and owner of the property." So a rental owner can answer for a renter's broken car.

On the street

Section 11-6-2 bars storing "hobby or derelict vehicles" on the public right-of-way in residential areas. A tow truck may not park on residential public property unless it is making a delivery or doing the work it was built for. If you have a friend with a trailer lined up, that is worth knowing.

If the city impounds it

Once ownership is known, Section 11-1A-5 says you are told where the car is and what is owed. "No vehicle will be released from storage or impound until all fees accrued for towing and storage are paid," and unpaid parking fines must be settled too. If the car is not claimed "within fifteen (15) days after notice," Section 11-1A-4 applies. The city may then sell it at auction, keep it as a city vehicle, or dispose of it another way. After that, there is "no right to redemption."

You have 10 days after receiving the notice to ask for a hearing on whether the tow was legal.

Arapahoe County title office

Englewood is in Arapahoe County. We checked the county office at 5334 S. Prince St. in Littleton, phone (303) 795-4500, roughly 2 miles southwest of central Englewood in a straight line.

Every owner named on an Englewood title signs the Seller section on the back, written the way the front shows it. If the price is missing from the title, a bill of sale is required; the DR 2173 form can also carry the odometer disclosure.

Emissions on a car that will not start

Englewood is inside the zone where Colorado tests emissions. Englewood falls within that zone, which spans metro Denver and the North Front Range. If the car is over 7 model years old and the buyer lives in a testing county, the seller must give the buyer a passing test. A car that cannot run cannot pass one. The DMV says an inoperable car may still be sold in the program area if certain criteria are met, and asks sellers to call 303-205-5603.

Plates and the report

Take your plates off; they are yours. Return regular plates to the county office or a metal recycler. File "Report Release of Liability" on myDMV within 5 days.

Getting an offer

Get an offer by calling (877) 421-6008 or sending the form. Tell us about the Englewood car and we'll go from there. Loading can happen from a screened side yard off Broadway, a garage, or a shop. Neighbors: Littleton and Lakewood. Statewide rules are on Colorado.