Selling a junk or dead car in Newtown

From sticker to sale under state law

Here is how a stalled or abandoned Newtown car moves through the system:

1. Sticker. A car that looks abandoned or unregistered can get a police tag. You then have 24 hours, and after that it can be towed and stored, with you paying.
2. Custody. A car endangering traffic, health or safety can be seized by local police, state police or DMV inspectors, on a highway or anywhere else.
3. Letter. Inside 48 hours after the tow, certified mail goes out to the owner and any lienholders.
4. Ten days. That is your window to contest.
5. Sale. If Newtown doesn't hold the title yet, it can sell a car worth $1,500 or less once 15 days pass. Above that figure, the wait is 45 days.

On its own, abandonment is also an infraction under state law: one day on a highway or another person's land and the fine begins at $85. Those dollar figures are legal tests, not values for your car. Our towed or impounded guide covers those first ten days.

Yards and driveways

The state gives towns blight powers, with written notice and a reasonable window to fix things, but it leaves vehicles to each local ordinance. We could not see Newtown's. Newtown covers 57.528 square miles, and lots of old cars sit where nobody sees them, so ask the town first instead of guessing yours is fine.

Taxes can block your next registration

Connecticut towns can report an owner as tax delinquent. When that happens, the DMV has to refuse any registration in the owner's name. A dead car still registered to you keeps appearing on Newtown's tax rolls until you cancel. Cancelling soon after the sale keeps a car you no longer own from blocking your next one. See tickets or registration hold.

Title paperwork, through Danbury

Only the state DMV issues Connecticut titles. We checked its Danbury branch, 2 Lee Mac Avenue, about 7 miles west of the center of Newtown as the crow flies. Parts of town may sit closer to another branch.

• Signing over. Signature on the reverse of the certificate, then the title and a bill of sale go to whoever buys. The DMV's steps for a Newtown seller never call for a notary.
• Older than 20 model years: no title is required. You sell it with a Q-1 and the most recent registration.
• Lost title: apply on H-6B. It costs $25.00 and arrives by mail inside 20 business days.

Plates and proof

Keep the plates. Go online to cancel the registration, and hang on to the receipt. Connecticut gives you nothing else to show the car has left your hands, so that receipt is it. Leave insurance on until the cancellation shows complete.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008, and tell us the model, the miles and what's up with the title. Nearby pages cover Bethel, Southbury, Danbury and Trumbull, and the Connecticut page has statewide rules.