How to sell a dead car in Wheat Ridge

What counts as inoperative

The same zoning section describes a vehicle that is "not legally operable" for lack of "a current safety inspection sticker, license plates or registration." It also covers one "not capable of being operated due to mechanical deficiencies, or partially dismantled condition." So expired tags alone can be enough, even on a car that still starts.

Street and impound clocks

Chapter 13 handles cars on public land. Under Section 13-41:

• 24 hours. A car or trailer left unattended on any public property, street or right-of-way for 24 hours or longer is abandoned, unless the owner has put a dated note on it saying they will return or has told the Wheat Ridge Police.
• 72 hours at the lot. A car stored in a police impoundment lot that is not picked up within 72 hours of being told it is ready for release also counts as abandoned.

A breakdown has its own label in the code. The code calls a car a "disabled motor vehicle" when a mechanical failure, crash or fire leaves it "temporarily inoperable under its own power" where it stopped.

Selling from the driveway

Section 26-622 bars parking any vehicle "for the principal purpose of selling such vehicle on a public roadway, on public property or any other property not zoned residential." A home lot can have just one vehicle for sale at a time, parked on the driveway or on the street right by the house. The community development director may give written authorization for up to three in cases of death, divorce, terminal illness or confinement. A for-sale sign in the window is treated as evidence the owner parked it there to sell. A dead car with a sign on it that sits for weeks can run into both this rule and the junk-yard definition.

Title work in Jefferson County

Wheat Ridge is in Jefferson County. Wheat Ridge owners, like everyone selling in Colorado, work with their county clerk and recorder's motor vehicle office. This page has no Jefferson County office address we checked, so find it yourself before heading out. The state also runs one non-county title desk, the Westgate office in Lakewood, by appointment for duplicate titles and other state title work.

Lost the title? Form DR 2539A gets you a duplicate for $8.20. Wheat Ridge sellers sign and print in the title's Seller section, matching how the name reads on the front. Every owner listed signs too, and you fill in the price and date. Selling a car in Wheat Ridge needs no notary stamp.

Plates and the 5-day report

The plates are yours. In Wheat Ridge, take the plates off before we load. Regular Wheat Ridge plates can be returned to the county office or handed to a metal recycler. Then, within 5 days, a Wheat Ridge seller files "Report Release of Liability" on myDMV with the plate number and VIN.

Getting an offer

For a number on your Wheat Ridge car, ring (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. A truck comes to it, on the driveway, at the curb out front, or at a repair shop. Neighbors: Arvada and Golden. For statewide rules see Colorado.