Bristol, Connecticut: selling a car that no longer runs

If the car is not worth the yard space, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, including a side yard in Bristol.

One car, then two

Bristol's code counts. The storage rule above allows at most a single unregistered noncommercial car outdoors, and only under its conditions. The property-maintenance chapter, Section 5-48, goes further. Among the conditions its definitions list is the "storage or parking of two or more unregistered or inoperable motor vehicles."

The same section covers any "unlicensed, inoperable" vehicle, from cars and campers to riding mowers. Keeping the registration current protects you, since the code treats that as a defense. Under the code, a vehicle is inoperable if it has at least two of the listed signs. Abandoned automobiles also appear in its definition of solid waste.

The Bristol code text we read sets no number of days to fix a violation. Connecticut law lets towns enforce blight rules only with written notice and a reasonable chance to fix the problem, so the notice itself sets your date.

Parking tickets that end in a boot

A car that sits on the street collecting tickets has its own risk in Bristol. Under Section 14-44, when a car is parked in violation and "there are three (3) or more unsatisfied municipal parking citations outstanding," police may put an immobilization device on it, or have it towed.

Getting it back is not quick. Before an impounded car leaves the pound, the owner must show "evidence of his identity and ownership," sign a receipt and pay the impound and administration costs. The police chief keeps a record of every car, plate and violation. If the tickets have also stopped your registration, see tickets or registration hold.

State law adds two more ways a car can be taken. Police and DMV inspectors may take any car that is a menace to traffic or public safety, on or off a highway. A notice sticker is the other route: on a car that looks abandoned or lacks registration, it starts a one-day countdown to a tow, with storage billed to the owner.

Title paperwork through the Waterbury office

Bristol has no title office of its own, because Connecticut titles come from the state DMV. For Bristol sellers, we checked the office at 2210 Thomaston Avenue in Waterbury, about 8 miles southwest in a straight line.

Most sellers never need to go. Your signature belongs on the reverse of the title, which passes to the buyer together with a bill of sale. The DMV checklist has no notary step. If the title is lost, Form H-6B replaces it for $25.00 and the new one is mailed within 20 business days. That matters in Bristol: if a car needs a title, a licensed recycler can't take it unless the title comes along. The exception is an older car, past 20 model years, which Connecticut does not title.

Plates and the Bristol tax rolls

Keep the plates. Take them off, cancel the registration with the DMV and save the cancellation receipt. Until you cancel, the car stays on Bristol's property-tax rolls, and your insurance should stay on until the DMV has cancelled. Connecticut has no release-of-liability form, so the receipt is your record.

Nearby towns

Southington and Farmington are each 6.1 miles away in a straight line, New Britain 8.0 and Waterbury 9.8. Statewide rules are on the Connecticut page.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or send the form. Call or use the form for your Bristol car, and say if you still need an H-6B first. If the car sits ten feet off the rear line, or in a lot near St. Joseph Church, that is where the truck goes.