Selling a dead or junk car in Berlin

What Berlin's article reaches

The article is broad. Its idea of a vehicle reaches anything "self-propelled, pushed manually or pulled by a motor vehicle", so a dead utility trailer can be covered along with the car that used to tow it. It also defines a catch-all: "Unsightly material means junk vehicles or parts thereof", followed by junk equipment and machinery. A pile of parts from an old project can count even if the car itself is gone.

The definition of a junk vehicle begins "Junk vehicle means any motor vehicle or vehicle, or part thereof, which is not currently", and the excerpt we have stops there. We also did not capture the notice period or the fines. Read the full article on the town's site, linked below, before you count days. Berlin may have deadlines of its own that are not covered here.

The state rules that apply anyway

Connecticut law fills the gap:

• 24 hours abandoned. Leaving a car abandoned on a highway or on someone else's property for more than 24 hours is an infraction, fined at least $85.
• 24-hour sticker. Police can sticker an apparently abandoned or unregistered car. After those 24 hours, it can be hauled off and stored, and the owner pays.
• 48 hours and 10 days. After a tow, police or a parking authority send the owner and any lienholders a certified letter within 48 hours. From there, the owner gets 10 days to push back.
• 15 or 45 days. If the town does not already hold title, a car worth $1,500 or less can be sold after 15 days, and one worth more after 45 days.

If the car on your property belongs to someone else, see car abandoned on your property.

Title and DMV, from Berlin

Connecticut has no town or county title offices; the state DMV issues every title. We checked the Wethersfield DMV at 60 State Street for Berlin sellers; it lies about 10 miles northeast as the crow flies. Hub offices handle every transaction, while limited-service and express partners do fewer, so check before you drive.

All you do on the title is sign the back, and the buyer gets a bill of sale too. Lost the title? A replacement uses Form H-6B, runs $25, and arrives by mail within 20 business days. Allow for that wait, since a licensed recycler can't accept a car that needs a title if the title is missing. Cars past 20 model years skip all of this, since no title exists for them; Form Q-1 and the current registration do the job. See junk car with no title.

Plates come off

You keep the plates. Cancel the registration with the DMV online, about seven minutes of work, and save the receipt. Until then the car stays on Berlin's tax rolls. Hold on to your liability insurance until the cancellation is done.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or reach us online. Name the car, give the miles it shows, say if it can drive itself, list the papers you hold, and mention the trailer if there is one. Meriden and New Britain are each about 5 miles away; the Connecticut page covers state law.