Selling a dead or junk car in Milford

Milford's own rules

We searched for Milford's bylaws on the web and did not find them. Everything below is Massachusetts law, and the town may still set its own rules on broken cars in yards. On private-property tows, the state's automobile law page points owners to local police for answers.

The 72-hour state rule

Chapter 90, section 22C gives street officers a 72-hour test. In Milford, a car that seems abandoned, has stayed past that limit on a road, private way or other property without permission, and is worth less than hauling it can be taken as refuse.

A landowner can't simply have any car hauled off, either. Under c. 266 s. 120D, a car can be towed off private property only after police are notified and the driver got a warning against parking there, in person or by a posted sign. Skipping the police notice, or the owner's consent, can cost the remover a fine as large as $100.

If the police had it towed

State law caps storage on a police-ordered tow. A secure, fenced, lit lot can charge a passenger car no more than $35 per 24 hours. In a lot without those features it is half that. The storage company holds a lien, so the car does not leave until the bill is settled. See towed or impounded.

If a garage is holding it

Chapter 255, section 39A sets out what a garage must do with a car nobody claims:

1. Send the registered owner its Milford storage rates by registered mail, return receipt.
2. Wait until 60 days have passed since the car came in with nobody claiming it, then give notice.
3. Next, the Milford garage waits 21 more days, runs the notice in a local paper for three straight weeks, and tells the police chief 5 days ahead.
4. Then a Milford garage can sell, publicly or privately. The Milford garage takes out what it's owed. The registered owner or the clerk of the district court gets what's left.

Got a Milford repair estimate bigger than the car's value? See stuck at a repair shop for your options.

The excise keeps coming

The yearly motor vehicle excise comes from Milford, not the state, at $25 for every $1,000 of the car's value. Even a car parked in the driveway owes it while it's registered. Cancelling the registration online is what stops it. Abatement requests go to the town's board of assessors, and the window closes three years after the bill was due or one year after you paid it, whichever comes later.

Title and plates

• On the title, the Milford seller fills in the odometer reading. Both sides then sign, print names and add the date. Nothing in the RMV's private-sale steps calls for a notary.
• A missing title can be replaced for $25. It can take 10 business days to arrive.
• The plates stay with you. After you cancel, cut them in half or recycle them. They do not go back to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
• After signing the title and handing over the car, the seller isn't liable for how it's used next (c. 90D s. 15). There is no release form.

Nearby towns

As the crow flies, Franklin is 7.6 miles from Milford, Westborough 8.9, Grafton 9.0 and Framingham 11.2. The Massachusetts page covers statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Fill in the form for your Milford car. Our truck comes to it, behind a shop off Main Street, in a storage yard, or at the end of your driveway.