We buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits.

Free pickup anywhere in the US

(877) 421-6008Get my offer

Town guide · Massachusetts

Selling a junk car in Grafton

Grafton's own junk-car bylaw did not come up when we searched the online code libraries. What follows is state law, and Grafton may well have a local rule we could not see. The state rule most likely to matter is the 72-hour abandonment clock in M.G.L. c. 90 s. 22C. It targets a car standing where its owner has no right to leave it, not one parked in your own yard. If a car in Grafton has stopped being worth keeping, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and there is free pickup anywhere in the US.

Updated · 13 sources

Grafton Common under deep snow, with bare trees, a white three-story building, a red brick inn with columns and a white church steeple
Photo: C.S. Imming · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Grafton, the short version

Population
21,043 (Census estimate, July 1, 2025)
County
Worcester
Town junk-car bylaw
Not found online; the town may have one
State abandonment clock
72 hours (M.G.L. c. 90 s. 22C)
Private-lot tow without notice
Fine up to $100
Who bills the excise
The town, not the RMV
Replacement title
$25, up to 10 business days
Plates
Seller keeps and destroys them

The state's abandonment rule

Under c. 90 s. 22C, a town's street officer who judges a vehicle "apparently abandoned" may take it and treat it as refuse. Three conditions must all hold. The Grafton car has sat "more than 72 hours." It is on a road or private way, or on land the owner didn't approve. Plus the Grafton car's value falls below the cost of towing and disposing of it. A car you own, parked on your own land, fails the permission test.

For cars sitting on private property, the RMV's automobile-law page points people to their local police. It also says each town writes and enforces its own bylaws. Ask Grafton's police or town offices whether a local rule covers yards before you assume none does.

A stranger's car on your Grafton land

Moving someone else's car is limited by c. 266 s. 120D. Towing from private land in Grafton requires a warning from the land's manager, in person or on a posted sign, plus word to police about the tow. Leaving the police out of it, or moving the car without its owner agreeing, is punishable by a fine capped at $100. Car abandoned on your property has more on that.

One law people often reach for does not apply. Chapter 140B is aimed at junkyards run as businesses, not at a car a household has stopped using.

When the title is missing

Replacing a lost Massachusetts title costs $25. Grafton owners can apply online or mail in the paper form with a check or money order to MassDOT. Your Grafton copy can need 10 business days in the mail. Even a loan paid off long ago may still show up on the record. To clear it you need a signed letter on the lienholder's letterhead. The RMV refuses faxes and copies, even for an old loan. See lien still on the title.

Old cars may skip the title altogether. Cars from model year 1980 back, purchased before Nov. 26, 1990, sit outside the title system. That Grafton sale runs on a bill of sale and the prior owner's registration, which matters for a project car parked for years.

The RMV's affidavit used in place of a title will not help a private seller. It is reserved for insurance companies and for dealers holding a Class 2 or Class 3 license. A title status of "Junked" is final: the car was found incapable of running, was scrapped, and will not be titled or registered again.

Signing, plates and the excise

Got the title? Fill in the odometer number on the Grafton title, then both parties sign, print and date the transfer. The RMV's seller steps don't call for a notary. A Grafton title without a spot for the price needs a bill of sale listing it.

The plates stay with you after the car leaves. Close out the Grafton registration online and keep the receipt. Then cut the plates in two with tin snips or put them in recycling. Grafton sends an excise bill of $25 for every $1,000 of value for as long as the registration stays active. Cancelling is the step that ends it.

Towns nearby

Grafton, part of Worcester County and the Worcester metro, has these neighbors we also cover, in straight-line miles: Westborough and Shrewsbury 5.5 each, Worcester 7.6, Milford 9.0, Marlborough 12.0 and Holden 13.7. The Massachusetts page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Have a car in Grafton to sell? Call (877) 421-6008 or use the online form. In Grafton our truck heads to the car, in a barn, a back field or near the Common.

Questions people ask

Does Grafton limit junk cars in yards?
We did not find Grafton's bylaws online, so we cannot quote a local rule, and the town may have one. At the state level, the junkyard chapter, c. 140B, is written for junkyard businesses rather than for a household's idle car.
Someone left a dead car on my Grafton lot. Can I have it towed?
Under c. 266 s. 120D, a tow off private land needs two things. In Grafton, whoever controls the land must have told the driver not to park, in person or by a posted sign. Police must also be informed. Towing a Grafton car with no such notice and no owner consent risks a fine as high as $100.
Can I sell a Grafton car that was never titled?
Possibly. In Grafton, a passenger car from the 1980 model year or older, purchased before Nov. 26, 1990, never needed a title. They change hands with the earlier registration and a bill of sale.
How do I replace a lost Massachusetts title?
The RMV replaces one for $25. Order online, or apply by mail and pay MassDOT by check or money order. Allow as long as 10 business days.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

  1. U.S. Census Bureau: city and town population estimates, 2020-2025 www2.census.gov
  2. U.S. Census Bureau: 2025 Gazetteer, county subdivisions (land area) www2.census.gov
  3. M.G.L. c. 90 s. 22C (abandoned vehicles) malegislature.gov
  4. M.G.L. c. 266 s. 120D (removing vehicles from private property) malegislature.gov
  5. M.G.L. c. 140B (junkyards) malegislature.gov
  6. Mass.gov: Massachusetts law about automobiles mass.gov
  7. Mass.gov: Replace your vehicle's certificate of title mass.gov
  8. Mass.gov: Vehicle certificate of title (age exemption) mass.gov
  9. Mass.gov: Affidavit in lieu of certificate of title for salvage vehicle mass.gov
  10. Mass.gov: Apply for a registration and title for a vehicle purchased from an individual mass.gov
  11. Mass.gov: Cancel your vehicle registration and license plates mass.gov
  12. Mass.gov: Motor vehicle excise mass.gov
  13. Mass.gov: EVR rules for titles and salvage mass.gov