Selling a dead car in Mililani Mauka

How far behind is the registration?

On Oahu a late passenger-car renewal carries a flat $16.00 penalty, split as an $8 county weight tax penalty and an $8 state one. Online and kiosk renewal only work up to 10 months after expiry.

The years matter to whoever ends up with the car. Honolulu assesses a new owner of a delinquent car all delinquent taxes for the prior years it was not legally registered. The county leaves it to the buyer and seller to settle back registration and inspection between them, and the title stays put until the car is current.

There is one exception for a car headed to the crusher. For residents who junk a car through Honolulu's free Junk Vehicle Program, the county drops every bit of back registration and fees. Junking does not cancel a loan, citations or criminal charges.

A safety sticker, not a smog test

Hawaii has no emissions testing. It checks safety instead: every car needs an annual State of Hawaii safety inspection, and new cars get an initial two-year check. When you sell, the current certificate goes to the buyer with the title. A car that cannot pass is covered in failed inspection or rust, and one that has been parked for ages in car sitting for years.

If the car ends up on the street

We came up empty looking for a Mililani Mauka junk-car code online. Honolulu, which governs the area as a combined city and county, may have its own. Hawaii's statute fills the gap. HRS 290-1 calls a car abandoned, absent a county ordinance saying otherwise, when no one has tended it in more than a day and it is parked against the law on public property or on a highway shoulder, setback or easement. The county must take custody within ten business days.

HRS 290-2 then requires registered or certified mail to the owner. The car can be disposed of if not reclaimed within ten days of mailing, or 20 business days when the owner's address is out of state. Under HRS 290-3, an unclaimed car goes to public auction after one newspaper ad; with no bid it can be sold by negotiation, junked, or given to a government agency.

The title office, 14 miles southeast

Hawaii has no state DMV, and Oahu's titles run through the Department of Customer Services at satellite city halls by AlohaQ appointment. One office we checked is at 1041 Nuuanu Ave. Ste. A in Honolulu, phone (808) 768-4325, about 14 miles southeast of the middle of Mililani Mauka as the crow flies; Honolulu may operate other title counters as well.

A replacement for a lost title runs $10.00 on form CS-L(MVR)10. All registered owners sign, a mailed form must be notarized, and email is not accepted. With a lien on record, only the lender can ask for one. See junk car with no title.

Signing it over

• Section A: odometer reading for model year 2011 and newer, the date, printed name and signature of every owner. A notary is optional.
• The buyer leaves with the signed title, your most recent registration and the safety certificate.
• File the Notice of Transfer within 10 days. HRS 286-52 sets a fine of no more than $100 for skipping it.
• Personalized plates have their own transfer process. A retired one can be kept as a memento front plate while the back plate is surrendered.

Neighbors of Mililani Mauka

Mililani Town is 2.4 miles away, Pearl City 5.6 and Waipahu 6.4. Kapolei is 10.5 miles off. The Hawaii page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or online. Say what the car is, its miles, if it runs, and how many months the registration and safety sticker have lapsed. Pickup comes to the car: a garage, the curb, or wherever it quit.