Selling a junk or dead car in Amherst

If the car is yours and you would rather decide where it goes, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, from a driveway near downtown Amherst to a lot on the edge of town.

The state rules that fill the gap

Section 22C is about cars nobody is claiming. It needs three things at once: the long sit, a spot the landowner never agreed to, and a car worth less than its own removal. An owner's own car, parked on the owner's own lot, does not obviously meet that test, but that does not mean Amherst has no say. The RMV's page on automobile law sends owners to local police guides on private-property removals and notes that towns write and enforce their own bylaws.

Towing from a private lot, such as behind an apartment building, is governed by Chapter 266, Section 120D. The person in charge of the land must have barred parking there, either face to face or with a sign, and the police have to be told about the tow. A tow done without that police notice, or without the car owner's agreement, exposes whoever did it to a fine as high as $100.

One law people expect to matter does not: Chapter 140B regulates junkyards as businesses. It is not aimed at a private owner with one car that stopped running.

If the car was already towed

Police-ordered tows fall under Chapter 159B. Storage for a passenger car tops out at $35 for every 24-hour stretch when the yard is fenced, lit and secure, and at half of that where it is not. Until the bill is paid, the storage yard holds a lien, so waiting only makes it bigger. To get the car out of the yard or sell it while it's there, see our towed or impounded guide.

Signing the title over

Massachusetts titles are issued by the RMV, the Registry of Motor Vehicles inside MassDOT. Your part: write the odometer mileage on the title, then sign, print your name and add the date beside the buyer's own signature, printed name and date. A price line on the title takes the sale price; a title with no such line means the buyer turns in a bill of sale carrying the price. Chapter 90D, Section 15 also has the seller's assignment carry the true odometer figure and a warranty that the title is good. Nothing in the RMV's list of steps for sellers mentions a notary.

After that the paperwork is the buyer's. An insurance agent licensed in Massachusetts fills in, stamps and signs the buyer's application, and the buyer has 10 days from purchase to get the car titled, paying $75 for the title and 6.25% sales tax.

Two title snags come up with older cars:

• Built before 1981. In Amherst, no title was ever needed for a passenger car from 1980 or before that changed hands ahead of Nov. 26, 1990. The previous registration and a bill of sale carry it to the next owner.
• No title in hand. The RMV charges $25 to replace one. Amherst owners can apply online, or mail the form to the Title Division with payment to MassDOT by check or money order. In Amherst it can take as long as 10 business days to show up. An old car loan that was paid off but still shows on the record needs a release letter from the lender, signed and on its letterhead, and the RMV turns away faxed or photocopied letters. See selling with no title.

Plates and the excise bill

Massachusetts plates belong to the seller. Cancel the registration through a MyMassGov account online, hold on to the cancellation receipt, and send a photocopy of it to your insurer. After that, either recycle the plates or cut each one in two. Buying something else? The same plates can go onto it within a 7-day grace period, counted in calendar days, and the RMV will not hand out temporary plates in the meantime.

The excise is a town bill, not an RMV one. Amherst's assessors charge $25 on each $1,000 of the car's value every year, and a registration that is still active keeps that bill coming until you cancel it. Disputing an excise bill? An abatement request belongs with the local board of assessors, filed no later than 3 years after the bill was due or 1 year after payment, if that is later.

There is no release-of-liability form in Massachusetts. Under Chapter 90D, Section 15, once you sign the assignment and hand over the car, you are not liable for how it is driven or for tickets after that, even if the buyer's new title has not come yet.

Nearby towns

Straight-line distances from Amherst: Northampton 8.9 miles, Holyoke 12.6, Ludlow 12.7 and Chicopee 13.2. For the statewide picture, see Massachusetts.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. The short form handles the details. Anywhere in Amherst works for us, even a garage the car hasn't left in years.