Selling a dead or junk car in Dover

Section 106-130: five days, or 90

The section makes it unlawful to "allow any vehicle partially dismantled, stripped, nonoperating or in such repair as to render it unable to operate legally on a public street, or a wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle to remain on the property for more than five days." A car with a seized engine or no working brakes falls in that group.

The longer clock is for a car that still drives. The code bars letting "any operable unregistered or uninspected vehicle to remain on the property for more than 90 days." In Delaware that matters, because renewing a registration takes a passed inspection. A car that fails, gets parked and then stops starting moves from the 90-day group into the five-day group.

When the clock does not run

The rule skips a car "in an enclosed building or enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes," and one kept at a business licensed for vehicle storage, salvage or repair.

For the 90-day limit only, the city can grant more time. The owner has to park and secure the car and notify the department of planning and inspections. The code lists "out-of-state military service, illness, extended travel" among the reasons.

Where the car sits matters as well. Vehicles may not be parked in the front, side or rear yards that zoning requires, "except in approved driveways, garages, carports, or parking pads." A dead car on the grass is out of bounds from day one.

On a Dover street

The same section bars parking, or letting stay parked, on city streets any vehicle that is "wrecked, nonoperating or improperly equipped" so badly that driving it would be illegal. No grace period is written for the street.

If the city impounds a car, Section 106-184 has the enforcement officer notify the registered owner in writing, naming the violation and where the car went. When the owner is unknown, the officer asks the state Division of Motor Vehicles. To get the car back, Section 106-185 says the owner must "pay all charges which have accrued as a result of the impoundment," on top of any penalty. Our towed or impounded guide weighs paying against letting it go.

The state DMV is in Dover

The state issues Delaware titles. Counties don't. The Division of Motor Vehicles has four facilities, and one is at 303 Transportation Circle, roughly a mile southeast of downtown Dover, as the crow flies. Its phone is (302) 744-2500. The DMV's mailbox, P.O. Box 698, is in Dover too, so every Seller's Report of Sale in the state is mailed here.

Safety and emissions inspection runs at all four facilities, at no charge. Before driving it on a new registration, the buyer needs an inspection.

Signing over the title

• No notary. Dover sellers skip the notary. Section 1 on the back, the Assignment of Certificate of Title, gets who bought it and their address, the day of the sale, what they paid and the mileage.
• Co-owners. Names joined by "AND" all sign. "AND/OR" needs only one.
• Liens. State law has the seller certify every lien under penalty of perjury and hand over the title with the car.
• Report the sale. The statute says "immediately." Use the Seller's Report of Sale strip at the bottom of newer titles, or the back of the registration card. Fill in who bought the Dover car and where they live, the day and time you sold it, and sign it. Then mail it to DMV Vehicle Services Help Desk, P.O. Box 698, Dover, DE 19903.
• Plates. They come off the car. Retain them at the DMV to keep the number, or the number is lost. After you sell walks through it.

If the buyer takes more than 30 days to title the car, a late fee applies.

No title in the glovebox

A duplicate costs $50.00 on form MV213, and every owner signs it. Old wrecks have another option. A Dover car older than 8 years with no engine, or one that is totally inoperable, can go to a licensed automotive recycler on DMV forms without the lost title. The recycler then writes to the last owner and any lienholder by certified mail. More in junk car with no title.

Towns near Dover

Middletown is 22.2 miles away in a straight line, Newark 37.9 and Wilmington 39.7. Statewide rules are on the Delaware page.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. Our Dover offer depends mostly on the car, its rough mileage, if the engine catches and whose name the paperwork shows. Pickups happen on side streets off Loockerman, in work lots, or at shops that halted a repair.