Selling a dead or junk car in Falmouth

When the state lets a town take a car

Under M.G.L. c. 90 s. 22C, a car that stays "more than 72 hours" on a public or private way in Falmouth, or on land where the owner gave no permission, may be treated by officers as apparently abandoned. It also has to be worth less than the cost of removing and disposing of it. When both hold, the officer may take the car and get rid of it "as refuse." In Falmouth, that is the risk for a car left on a friend's lot or a back road, not one parked at home.

The excise keeps coming

Falmouth assesses the motor vehicle excise, not the RMV. It costs $25 per $1,000 of value, and it's tied to the registration, not to the car running. Cancel the registration and the billing stops; a lapse alone does not do it. To dispute a bill, Falmouth's board of assessors decides abatements. Two clocks run in Falmouth: 3 years past the due date, and 1 year past your payment. You get whichever ends last.

Signing over the title

A Falmouth sale needs no notary under the RMV steps. The seller writes in the odometer miles, and both people sign, print names and add the date. State law also wants "the actual odometer reading and a warranty of title" in the seller's assignment. Falmouth sellers put the price on the title's line if it has one, and on a bill of sale if it doesn't. Then a licensed insurance agent stamps the buyer's paperwork.

The RMV exempts passenger cars of model year 1980 and older that changed hands before Nov. 26, 1990 from titling. Those older Falmouth cars sell on just the prior registration plus a bill of sale. Can't find the title for a newer Falmouth car? A new copy is $25, and the RMV says to allow up to 10 business days. See junk car with no title.

The plates stay with you

Take the plates off before the truck leaves the Falmouth curb. In Massachusetts they stay with the seller. Then cancel the Falmouth registration through MyMassGov, keep the receipt, and mail a photocopy to your insurance company. Afterward the plates must be destroyed or recycled, and halving them with tin snips counts. Nothing gets mailed back. The same plates can go on a new car you buy inside 7 calendar days.

No release-of-liability form exists here. Under Chapter 90D, section 15(e), once you sign the title over and hand off the car, you're protected, so next month's ticket on it belongs to someone else. After you sell covers the last steps.

If an insurer totaled it

A Massachusetts salvage title never goes away. The main brand reads REPR or PART. A car branded PART can't be registered ever again. A second brand names the cause, such as Flood or Flood/Salt. Cars that were already a decade old when the loss happened are left out of the salvage process. See salvage title.

Getting an offer

Falmouth owners can call (877) 421-6008 or use the form and sell the whole car as it sits. The truck meets it wherever it is in Falmouth's 44 square miles, from Shore Street to the town line. Neighbors in Bourne, 8.5 miles off in a straight line, have their own page, and the Massachusetts page holds the state rules.