Selling a junk or dead car in Fairfield

Connecticut's clocks, applied to Fairfield

State statute hands every Connecticut town the power to fight blight. It says nothing about cars, though. Whether a dead sedan behind a house in the Fairfield Historic District counts as blight turns on a local ordinance we could not confirm.

On roads, and on land that isn't yours, state rules do reach Fairfield:

• One day on public or borrowed ground. A car left over 24 hours on a highway or another person's lot is an infraction under state law. The fine starts at $85.
• A sticker starts a countdown. Officers may tag an unregistered or apparently abandoned car with a notice. In Fairfield, once twenty-four hours pass, it may be towed away and stored at the owner's expense.
• Hazards go right away. Local police, state police or DMV inspectors may seize any car that endangers traffic, health or safety, wherever it sits.

After a tow

Expect certified mail within 48 hours of the tow, addressed to you and to any lender holding a lien. You have 10 days to contest. Cars valued at $1,500 or under may go to sale after 15 days; pricier ones wait 45. Towed or impounded covers the first steps.

The DMV handles the title, not Fairfield Town Hall

No Connecticut town prints titles. That job belongs to the state DMV. Of the offices we looked at, one sits at 95 Sylvan Avenue in Bridgeport, roughly 5 miles to the northeast of central Fairfield measured as the crow flies. Others may serve you too.

Selling means signing the reverse of your certificate of title, then passing it across with a bill of sale. Fairfield sellers can fill out the DMV's Form H-31. A handwritten bill works too if it names both people with their addresses, describes the car (make, model, year, color, VIN), and shows the price, the date and a signature. No notary appears on the DMV seller checklist.

Two cases change things:

• Model year more than 20 back. Connecticut does not title these. Fill out Form Q-1 and pass along your newest registration certificate.
• Missing title. Apply on Form H-6B; the state charges $25.00 and mails the copy inside 20 business days. Recyclers need it, because a licensed recycler may not accept a car requiring a title when none comes along. See junk car with no title.

Plates, insurance, assessor

Connecticut plates go home with the seller. Unbolt them, then end the registration through the DMV, which can be done online in roughly 7 minutes. Fairfield keeps the car on its tax list until that cancellation lands. File the receipt somewhere safe. The state has no release-of-liability form, so it is your only record. Liability coverage stays in force until the DMV confirms. Should a Fairfield assessor's bill still show up, answer it with the receipt and your bill of sale copy. Car property tax explains more.

Neighbors

Bridgeport is 4.0 miles away and Westport 5.3. Trumbull and Stratford both sit under 8 miles off. Statewide rules are on the Connecticut page.

Getting an offer

Fairfield owners can ring (877) 421-6008 or use the form, even for a car too old to need a title. We come to the car on a Fairfield side street, in a garage or on a shop lot.