Selling an old or dead car in Lexington

Selling a title-exempt car from Lexington

For a qualifying Lexington car, the buyer files a bill of sale with the last owner's registration in place of a title. Dig out that registration and fill out a bill of sale with the price on it.

Miss the cutoff by a model year or a purchase date, and a real title is needed. A lost one costs $25 to replace through the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), online or by mail, and delivery can stretch to 10 business days. Our old project car guide covers cars that sat half-finished for years.

If the car has a title, nothing on the RMV's private-sale page asks for a notary. Fill in the mileage, then each of you signs, prints a name and dates the transfer part of the title.

Junk-car rules in Lexington

Since we could not get Lexington's bylaws online, this section relies on state statutes alone. Ask at Lexington Town Hall if any local rule limits keeping a broken-down or unregistered car.

State law (c. 90 s. 22C) deals with a car that seems abandoned. Past 72 hours on a Lexington road, private way or land with nobody's okay, a car worth under its tow and disposal cost can be hauled off as refuse by a street officer. Your own Lexington driveway, with your blessing, is another matter.

A dead car on someone else's lot

Say the car quit in a parking lot near Depot Square. Chapter 266, section 120D says a car can't be towed from private land unless the person in charge told the driver to stay off, in person or by a posted sign, and the police are told. A tow made without police notice or the owner's go-ahead can draw a fine of up to $100.

When Lexington police order a tow, chapter 159B caps storage at $35 a day for a lot with fencing, lighting and security, and half that for other lots. The lot has a lien, so the bill keeps growing each day until it is paid and the car goes free. The towed or impounded guide covers getting it out.

Plates and the registration

Lexington plates go home with you. Lexington sellers cancel the registration online, then pass the receipt copy to the insurance carrier. After that, Lexington owners recycle the plates or cut them in half. If another car is coming, the plates can move to it within 7 calendar days.

Getting an offer

Lexington car with a title, or an old registration if exempt? Call (877) 421-6008 or go online. Free pickup anywhere in the US covers a Lexington driveway, a lot in Burlington, or a garage in Arlington. Statewide rules are on the Massachusetts page.