Selling a junk or dead car in Biddeford

How the city defines a graveyard

The definition sits in Sec. 22-23 and again in Section 2 of the land development rules. It also covers parts of such vehicles, and any area "used for automobile dismantling, salvage, and recycling operations." A few uses are carved out:

• a hobbyist's area for antique autos, classic vehicles, street rods and similar cars, as long as the hobbyist follows state and local law
• a repair shop's short-term storage of cars it is fixing
• a dealer's sales lot, where storage counts as temporary only if each vehicle is gone "within 180 calendar days of receipt of title by the business"

A broken daily driver fits none of those. Three of them on one lot put you inside the definition.

What a permit involves

Getting one is a public process. The city must post notice of the hearing "at least seven and not more than 14 days before the hearing" in two public places and print it in a local paper. The yard must sit behind a visual screen. If the permit is denied or revoked, the owner must begin removing every vehicle and part "not later than 90 days after all appeals have been denied." Selling the extra cars avoids all of that.

Below three cars

The sections we found deal with graveyards and junkyards, not with a single parked car. State law covers the rest. Under Maine's abandoned-vehicle rules, a vehicle that sits on residential property for over 6 months is covered, and the law assumes the last owner of record still owns it. Biddeford might have more local rules. If you get a letter from the city, it makes sense to phone City Hall.

Title office

Looking at York County branches, we found the BMV office at 63 Portland Road in Kennebunk, phone 207-985-4890. It is roughly 8 miles southwest of central Biddeford, measured directly. York County could have more branches than the one we looked up.

Maine title and plate rules

A Biddeford car is titled only if it falls in Maine's newest 25 model years, which from January 1, 2026 means 2001 and up. An older car needs no title at all. For a newer Biddeford car, the title gets signed over to the buyer when they take it, with the mileage written in. A lost title can be replaced online or with form MVT-8, and the fee is $33. See selling with no title.

A car declared a total loss can go straight to a licensed recycler without a certificate of salvage first.

The plates are yours to keep. They belong to the state, and the registration ends once title passes. Paying $8 lets you carry the number over to another vehicle during that registration year. Not planning to within 6 months? Then pull the Biddeford plates and send them by mail to the Secretary of State with the registration. You cancel plates with form MVR-60. After you hand the car over and finish the title transfer, the law no longer holds you responsible as owner. After you sell has the rest.

Nearby

Saco is 6.3 miles away, Scarborough 9.6 and South Portland 14.3. Statewide rules are on the Maine page.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or ask online. Give us the model and mileage of each car, plus if it can start and if it has a title. If there are two or three cars, list them all. The truck can meet each one where it sits, even when they are parked at different addresses.