Selling a junk car in Middleborough

Which rules reach a car that sits

This page relies on state law because Middleborough's bylaws were not posted online. Town rules in Middleborough could add limits on junked or unplated cars. Two state points matter:

• Abandonment after 72 hours. Under c. 90, s. 22C, an abandoned-looking Middleborough car parked past 72 hours on a road, private way or land with no okay, and worth under the removal bill, can be hauled off and scrapped by an officer.
• Local police and bylaws. For towing cars off private property, the state's automobile law page tells owners to check local police guides. It also says each town makes and enforces its own bylaws.

What a parked car keeps costing

The town bills the motor vehicle excise on any car that stays registered. A car whose registration was revoked, for an insurance lapse for example, still owes that excise until the registration is cancelled. Letting it ride does not end it; cancelling does. Should you want to drive that car again, a registration pulled over an insurance lapse costs a reinstatement fee before it comes back. See car sitting for years.

Junked, salvage or clean

Look at the title before you sell. When a car can't run and has been scrapped, the Registry of Motor Vehicles marks it "Junked." That car can never get a title or registration again. A PART brand, which the insurer applies when it totals a car, also rules out any future Massachusetts registration. A REPR brand means repairable. A Middleborough passenger car aged 10 or more years on the day of the loss skips the salvage-title process. See nonrepairable or junk title.

Signing it over

No notary shows up in the RMV's seller steps. A Middleborough seller writes the mileage first. Next, you and the Middleborough buyer sign the transfer block, print names by hand and date it. Put the price on the title if there's a line. If it doesn't, give the buyer a bill of sale showing it. State law wants the exact odometer number and a guarantee of good title in your assignment, and the certificate goes to the buyer by mail or by hand. Your Middleborough buyer has 10 days to title it and pays the $75 title fee plus 6.25% sales tax.

Section 15(e) of c. 90D says that after the buyer has the car and the signed assignment, you aren't liable for how the car is used. Massachusetts has no release form to file.

Plates

Middleborough sellers hold on to the plates. Cancel the Middleborough registration online and save the receipt to show your insurer. The RMV won't take Middleborough plates back, so recycle them or cut them in half. Or move the Middleborough plates to your next car within 7 calendar days. Once you cancel, the old car can't go on any public way.

Getting an offer

Ask online or at (877) 421-6008. Fill out the form for your Middleborough car and we'll reply. Pickup works from a back lot, a side yard or a driveway near Centre Street. Close to Middleborough, we also cover Bridgewater, 8.6 miles away on the map, and Taunton, 11.7. For statewide rules, see Massachusetts.