Selling a junk or dead car in Loveland

Where Loveland allows a car that does not run

The rule starts broad. It is unlawful to leave an unlawful vehicle on someone else's property "by wrecking, dismantling, rendering inoperable, abandoning or discarding" it, or to let one sit on your own. Then come three exceptions:

• business lots: a licensed dealer, a salvage yard, a repair garage or a police impound lot
• inside a building, "completely enclosed" and "screened from public and private off-lot view"
• under a commercial vehicle cover or a well-secured tarp

Section 16.04.040 defines a commercial vehicle cover as "a standard vehicle cover designed and manufactured for the purpose of covering a vehicle." An old bedsheet does not fit that wording, and a tarp only counts when it is tied down.

When the city keeps coming back

Loveland enforces its nuisance title with a Notice and Order to Abate, which tells the owner, agent or occupant to fix the problem. The same definitions single out a property that has drawn that notice "on two or more occasions during any 60-day period or on five or more occasions during any 12-month period." They also list "junked or abandoned motor vehicle bodies or parts" as rubbish.

What officers weigh on a Loveland curb

For cars on public ground, Section 10.28.010 has officers weigh how long the car has stayed put, debris in or around it, its structural integrity, its tires, "and any other fact that tends to show the vehicle is deserted, discarded, or inoperable." A car already in an impound lot turns abandoned if no one collects it "within 48 hours from the time the law enforcement agency notifies the owner or agent that the vehicle is available for release."

Colorado law takes it from there. The towing company owes the owner a certified letter inside 10 days. Thirty to 60 days past that letter, the lot may sell. When the appraisal comes in at $350 or below, only a scrapper or dismantler can buy, and no Colorado title passes. See towed or impounded.

Larimer County paperwork

Loveland owners file most title work in Larimer County, since for most services other counties' offices cannot help. One Larimer motor vehicle desk we checked is at 200 W. Oak Street, Fort Collins, phone (970) 498-7000, roughly 12 miles north of central Loveland as the crow flies.

Turn the title over. In the Seller block, sign, then print your name, matching the front letter for letter; any co-owner printed there signs too. Add the sale price and the day it sold. A 2011 or later model under 20 years old also needs its mileage disclosed. The DMV seller steps leave out any notary. Colorado calls a bill of sale (DR 2173) good practice, and makes it mandatory only when the title shows no price. Lost the title? Form DR 2539A gets a replacement for $8.20; selling with no title explains more.

Plates and the five-day report

Unscrew the plates before the truck pulls away, since Colorado ties them to you rather than the car. A Loveland seller has 5 days to file "Report Release of Liability" on myDMV or at a Larimer office. To finish in Loveland, have the plate number ready, plus the VIN or the registration card code. Once it's filed, the next owner's actions are no longer on you. Ordinary plates may be turned in to the county or dropped at a metal recycler.

Emissions can matter too. Is the Loveland buyer based in an emissions county, Denver-metro or North Front Range, and is your car over 7 model years old? Hand over a passing emissions result. For a car that won't run, call the DMV at 303-205-5603 first.

Getting an offer

Loveland owners can call (877) 421-6008 or send the form to get started. The truck comes to it, under a tarp beside a house or in a shop bay off 4th Street. We offer free pickup anywhere in the US, so Windsor, Johnstown and the rest of Colorado are covered too.