Getting rid of a junk car in Ewa Gentry

Who sets the rules in Ewa Gentry

Ewa Gentry isn't a city. It's a census-designated place in Honolulu County, and we couldn't find any local code for it online. That means the junk-car rules below come from state law. Honolulu County could also have local rules on top of these.

When the county takes a car off the street

HRS 290-1 gives the county ten business days to take an abandoned car into custody. The state default covers a car left unattended over 24 hours and unlawfully parked on public property, or on a highway setback, shoulder or easement. Under another law, HRS 290-8, the county can declare a car derelict when a part is missing or damage keeps it from working, as long as one of the listed conditions also applies.

Once the car is towed, HRS 290-2 has the county mail the legal and registered owner by registered or certified mail. Five days after it is mailed, the notice is treated as delivered. If the car is not reclaimed within ten days of mailing, the county can dispose of it. Honolulu mails a Notification of Unclaimed Vehicle in Custody letter too, and sells at auction any car still unclaimed after the deadline in that letter. For active-duty service members, that time is 60 days.

If a lot has a posted no-parking sign, the person who owns the land can have an unauthorized car towed, and the car's owner pays (HRS 290-11). The tow company must mail the owner a notice within fifteen days. If nobody claims the car within thirty days of that letter, it is considered abandoned.

Honolulu's junk program

People living in Ewa Gentry qualify for Honolulu's free Junk Vehicle Program. It hauls away a car that doesn't run for free and drops all back registration and fees. First complete the junk form. Then "Remove the vehicle license plates". The final step is booking a satellite city hall visit through AlohaQ and taking in the form, plates and title papers. The tow truck needs to reach the car, the car must be clear of debris, and the end the truck reaches needs at least two inflated tires. Junking leaves any loan, citation or criminal charge in place.

Selling it instead: what Hawaii asks of you

1. Get the car current. A title cannot transfer until registration and safety inspection are up to date. Honolulu's late-renewal penalty on a passenger car is a flat $16.00, and online or kiosk renewal only works up to 10 months after expiry.
2. Complete the seller's part of the title (Section A, front side): odometer reading (model year 2011 and newer), date, printed name and signature for each owner. A notary is not required.
3. Hand over the endorsed title, the last registration and the current safety certificate.
4. Within 10 days, mail the Notice of Transfer (form CS-L(MVR)53, at the top of the title) to the county office that last registered the car. The statute fines a late seller up to $100.

Once an insurer has written the car off as a total loss, Hawaii will not issue it a standard title until it is rebuilt at a certified Salvage Repair Dealer and passes inspection. Flood damage is not its own brand here; it is one kind of damage counted in that total-loss test. See wrecked or totaled.

The title office we checked

1041 Nuuanu Ave. Ste. A, Honolulu, (808) 768-4325, is about 11 miles east of Ewa Gentry as the crow flies. On Oahu, satellite city halls handle title and registration, and you book a visit through AlohaQ. For the statewide picture, see Hawaii.

Getting an offer

Reach us online or at (877) 421-6008. Phone us or send the form for your Ewa Gentry car. We collect in Ewa Gentry or at shops in Kapolei, 2.7 miles off, and Waipahu, 3.6 miles off.