Selling a junk car in Pittsfield

The inspection rules that park cars

Massachusetts Vehicle Check runs safety and emissions testing across the state. For a Pittsfield owner holding a car that just failed, four points count:

• Safety: no car is exempt from it.
• Emissions: every year, for onboard-diagnostic cars younger than 15.
• Sticker: a car driven without a valid one is a traffic violation.
• Buyer's clock: whoever buys the car has 7 days from registering to get it inspected, at $35 for most vehicles.

A failed sticker limits driving, but it does not appear among the RMV's private-sale seller steps. Our guides to failed inspection and failed emissions weigh fixing against selling.

Does Pittsfield have its own junk-car rule?

An online search found no Pittsfield ordinance about junk cars, so this page leans on Massachusetts law. Pittsfield could have its own limits on cars stored on a lot. Check with Pittsfield City Hall before leaving a dead car outside through the winter.

State law covers cars sitting away from their owner's land:

• 72 hours. A car that looks abandoned and has spent more than 72 hours on a way, public or private, or on land without permission, may be removed by a street officer under c. 90 s. 22C. If its value is under the cost of removal and disposal, it can be treated as refuse.
• Private lots. Chapter 266, section 120D, requires two things before a tow off private property: a direct or posted warning to the driver from whoever controls the land, and notice to police. A Pittsfield tower who skips both police notice and owner consent can be fined up to $100.
• Storage after a police tow. A secure, fenced, lit lot can't charge over $35 per 24 hours for a passenger car. Other lots can charge only half. The storage facility gets a lien.

If the title is missing

If the title is lost, a Massachusetts replacement costs $25. Pittsfield sellers can apply online. Pittsfield sellers can also send the form by mail to the Boston Title Division, with a MassDOT check or a money order. In Pittsfield, give it as long as 10 business days.

A paid-off loan trips people up. Old Pittsfield loan still on the record, even if paid years back? You need a lien release on the lender's letterhead, signed by them, for the new title. A fax or photocopy won't be accepted, however old the loan. Our no-title guide has more.

Signing it over

Massachusetts law has the owner, when handing over the car, sign the title's assignment, record the true odometer figure, warrant the title and deliver the certificate to the buyer. The RMV's steps turn that into three moves:

1. Write in the mileage.
2. On a Pittsfield title, seller and buyer both sign, print names and write the date.
3. In Pittsfield, write the price on the title if it has a spot, or else on a bill of sale.

Notarizing is not on that list. The buyer then has 10 days to title the car. A Pittsfield buyer covers the $75 fee plus 6.25% sales tax. A licensed Massachusetts insurance agent signs and stamps the form.

Plates and the Pittsfield excise

In Pittsfield the seller keeps the Massachusetts plates. Pittsfield owners cancel on MyMassGov, then hold onto the receipt and send a copy to their insurance company. From then on the car is off-limits on public ways. The RMV does not take plates back; recycle them or cut them through. The only other route is putting them on a car you buy within 7 calendar days, since no temporary plates are issued.

Cancelling also settles the excise. In Pittsfield every registered car owes $25 per $1,000 of value whether it runs or not, and a revoked registration still owes it until it is cancelled.

Getting an offer

For a car in Pittsfield, call (877) 421-6008 or send our form. We pick up across Pittsfield, from downtown driveways to lots on the edge of town and repair shops. Pittsfield sits far from the other towns on this site; Northampton has a page 31.1 miles off, Westfield is 33.7 and Holyoke 35.7. Statewide rules are on Massachusetts.