Selling a junk car in Northampton

If you are done paying for a car that does not move, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, Northampton included.

Stop the excise first

Go online, sign in to MyMassGov and cancel the registration; save the receipt it gives you, and pass a photocopy to your insurance company. Excise on a car registered for only part of a calendar year covers the month of registration and every month left in that year, so the meter runs on until you act. To challenge a bill, apply to Northampton's board of assessors within 3 years after the due date, or within 1 year after paying it, whichever ends later.

One catch: from the moment the registration is cancelled, Massachusetts bars the car from every public road. A dead car is not going anywhere on its own anyway, but it means a buyer has to tow or carry it.

A registration revoked for an insurance lapse is a separate problem. It needs a reinstatement fee before the car can be registered again, which is one more reason a parked car is often worth selling rather than reviving.

Is there a city rule on junk cars?

We did not find Northampton's own vehicle code online, so only state law is covered here, and Northampton could still have local rules we did not see. Chapter 90, Section 22C gives a Northampton officer power over a car that seems abandoned. A Northampton car can be hauled off as refuse when it's worth less than towing and scrapping and has sat over 72 hours on a street, or on someone's land with no consent.

Title and plates

The RMV issues Massachusetts titles. In the transfer section of the Northampton title, write the mileage, and then the seller and buyer each sign, print and date. No price line? Then a bill of sale stating the price travels with the title. By statute your assignment also carries a warranty of title and the true odometer reading. You will not find a notary among the RMV's seller steps.

A lost title costs $25 to replace. Order it online or by post, and expect up to 10 business days before it shows up.

Plates do not go with the car. Once the registration is cancelled, slice them in half or send them for recycling; the RMV does not want them back. They can go onto a car you are buying, within a grace window of 7 calendar days. The buyer owns the inspection duty: 7 days after registering, the car must be inspected. More on the last steps in after you sell.

Nearby

From Northampton, the nearest towns we cover are Holyoke (8.1 miles in a straight line), Amherst (8.9), Chicopee (11.6) and Westfield (13.7). Statewide rules are on the Massachusetts page.

Getting an offer

Use the form or (877) 421-6008. Send in the form and we'll reply about your Northampton car. The pickup truck comes to the car itself, whether it waits near Laurel Park or in a carport across town.