Selling a junk or inoperative car in Revere

When a car counts as junk in Revere

The definitions in section 5.16.100 give two ways in. An old or secondhand vehicle is "junk" if it is "unregistered and uninspected, and no longer intended or in condition for legal use on the public highways," or if "the cost to repair the vehicle to enable it to pass the commonwealth inspection laws for motor vehicles exceeds the value of the vehicle."

That second test is worth reading twice. A car can be registered and still be junk under Revere's code if fixing it to pass inspection costs more than it is worth. Our guide to repairs that cost more than the car covers that math.

Three Revere clocks

Revere's code runs more than one timer, and the shortest one may apply first.

• 48 hours on any property. Chapter 10.40 reads: "No person in charge or control of any property within the city ... shall allow any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle to remain on such property longer than forty-eight hours." The section lists exceptions.
• Zero time on the street. Section 10.40.030: "No person shall leave any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked or junked vehicle on any street or highway within the city."
• 72 hours, then 48 hours' notice. A car counts as abandoned when the officer in charge of public ways deems it so and it has stood "for more than seventy-two hours upon a public or private way therein or in any property therein without the permission of the owner or lessee of such property." The city may then remove it, provided "proper notice is first given to the owner of the abandoned vehicle forty-eight hours prior to the removal." If the owner cannot be handed the notice, mailing it to the last known address counts.

The restoration exemption

Section 5.16.110 exempts "antique, historical or classical motor vehicles" and cars with special value because they are unique. Even then, a car in junk condition gets "a period of three months to show that substantial progress is being made in restoring such vehicle," and the three months start on the date the removal notice is given. See old project car.

Titles for older Revere cars

Some of Revere's oldest cars never carried a title at all. If it is a 1980 model year passenger car or earlier, bought before Nov. 26, 1990, the state exempted it, and the seller hands over the last registration along with a bill of sale.

With a titled Revere car, write the miles, and both of you sign, print and date. You will find no notary among the RMV's seller steps. Lost the title? Replacing it runs $25, with delivery in as many as 10 business days.

Your plates

They leave Revere with you, not the car. Cancel online and the excise stops. Revere sellers can then recycle or destroy the plates, or move them to the next car inside the 7-day grace period.

Nearby towns

Straight-line miles from Revere: Chelsea 2.7, Everett 3.4, Saugus 3.5, Malden 3.5 and Lynn 4.0. See Massachusetts for statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or ask online. For a Revere car, fill out the offer form, noting the title or, on a 1980-or-older car, the old registration. Pickup is at the car's spot in Revere, from a driveway near the beach to a side street.