Selling a dead or junk car in Lafayette

The twelve-hour snow signs

Which streets serve as emergency snow routes is the city administrator's call. Declaring the emergency belongs to the public works director or a designee, when those routes must be cleared fast. Temporary signs then mark only the stretches where parking has to stop. A car still sitting there can be moved by Lafayette police or public works "to a nearby public parking area."

City tows from public property

Section 115-58 lets a police or code enforcement officer with "reasonable grounds to believe" a car was abandoned on public property send it to a city impound lot. It also reaches cars on streets posted for sweeping, cleaning, repair, maintenance or a city event.

Police check first for a stolen report. If there is none, the owner's notice warns that, "unless claimed within 30 calendar days from the date the notice was sent," the car "is subject to sale." Leaving a car in the lot "seventy-two (72) hours" past the police's release call makes it abandoned too. An officer or independent dealer appraises it, and the sale lands "not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days" after mailing. For choosing between reclaiming and letting go, see towed or impounded.

Your own lot: what Colorado says

The Lafayette sections we read are about public property. Some part of the Lafayette code we didn't read might cover private lots. Check with the city before leaving a broken car parked for months.

Colorado's statute fills the gap. C.R.S. Under 42-4-2101, a car parked a full day or more on another person's private land in Lafayette, without permission, is abandoned, unless a local ordinance sets its own period. The DMV tells landowners to phone a licensed towing company rather than the police. A stranger's car on your property is covered in car abandoned on your property.

For your own project car, Colorado offers a decal. Pay the annual specific ownership tax and display the DR 2910 decal, and the car may stay on private property while repaired or restored. Until a P.O.S.T.-certified inspection, it stays off public roads.

Boulder County's title counter

Its address is 1750 33rd Street, Boulder, CO 80301, and the phone line is 303-413-7710. From downtown Lafayette that is about 8 miles to the west, measured as the crow flies. County offices in Colorado keep their own hours and fees and serve their own residents.

Paperwork when a car has sat

Colorado gives one month of grace after registration lapses, then adds $25 a month in late fees, capped at $100.

Turn the title over and find the Seller section. Your printed name and signature go there, matching the front word for word, and any co-owner joins you. Note the price, the date and the mileage (for 2011 and newer models). Colorado's DMV puts no notary among its seller steps. The plates stay yours, so remove them. You get five days to let the state know with Report Release of Liability, online at myDMV or in person at the counter.

Nearby

Louisville 2.9 miles, Broomfield 3.8, Erie 4.5 and Boulder 8.3, all in straight lines. See Colorado for the state rules.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or write online. Selling a car in Lafayette? Give us a call or fill in our form. Our truck can load it on a side street off Simpson, in a Lafayette driveway, or at the shop where it gave out.