Town guide · Massachusetts
Selling a junk or dead car in Wareham
Massachusetts puts a 72-hour clock on cars left where they do not belong. Under M.G.L. c. 90 s. 22C, an apparently abandoned Wareham car that stays beyond that limit on a street or unpermitted private land, and is worth less than the tow, may be removed as refuse by a street officer. Our search did not find Wareham's own bylaws, so a town rule could be layered over the state one. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, so you can sell the whole car as it sits instead of letting that clock run.
Updated · 8 sources
Wareham, the short version
- Population
- 23,689 (Census estimate, July 2025)
- County
- Plymouth
- Land area
- 35.821 sq mi
- Town junk-car bylaw
- Not found in our search
- State abandoned-car clock
- 72 hours (c. 90 s. 22C)
- Towing off private land without police notice
- Fine as high as $100
- Notary
- Not on the RMV list for sellers
- Plates
- Seller cancels, keeps and destroys them
Section 22C has three tests
All three must hold before an officer can act. The car has to look abandoned. Wareham starts with time. Has it been over 72 hours? Where did the Wareham car end up: a public road, a private road, or someone's land where nobody gave it permission to sit? And its value has to fall below what removal and disposal would cost. That last part compares the car with hauling costs; it is a legal test, and nobody is quoting you a price with it.
A car in your own driveway, parked there with your blessing, sits outside that statute. Whether Wareham's 35.821 square miles carry a separate bylaw for yards is a question for town hall, and worth asking before a dead car spends a winter outdoors.
Stuck on another person's property
If the car died at a friend's place or in a store parking lot, M.G.L. c. 266 s. 120D decides who may move it. In Wareham, a tow off private land needs police notice and a prior warning to the driver, by sign or in person, from whoever lawfully controls the land. A tower who skips those steps risks a fine as high as $100.
Police-ordered tows have a storage ceiling under c. 159B s. 6B: a Wareham passenger car in a fenced, lit, secure lot costs up to $35 a day, and half of that in a lot that is less secure. The lot also holds a lien, so each day adds to a bill attached to the car.
Handing over the title
Massachusetts puts the mileage statement on the seller. Then the Wareham buyer and seller both sign the title's transfer section, hand-print their names and add the date. If the Wareham title has a price line, use it. Otherwise the Wareham buyer attaches a priced bill of sale to the application. The RMV's seller list never mentions a notary.
After that, the Wareham buyer gets 10 days to put the title in their name. The Wareham forms need a stamp from a licensed Massachusetts insurance agent. Sales tax of 6.25% and the $75 title fee fall on the Wareham buyer.
What happens to the plates
They come off and stay yours. Log in to MyMassGov, cancel the registration and save the receipt. Then slice each plate in two or take it to a recycler; the RMV has no use for them. Buying again soon? The same plates may go on the next car during a seven-day grace period. The last loose ends are on after you sell.
Getting an offer
Fill in the form or call (877) 421-6008. Use our form for your Wareham car. We offer free pickup anywhere in the US, from a driveway, side lot or repair bay. Measured straight from Wareham, Bourne is 6.4 miles and Plymouth 10.1. Statewide rules are on the Massachusetts page.
Questions people ask
- Is there a Wareham bylaw about junk cars?
- Our search did not turn up Wareham's bylaws, so this page leans on state law. A town rule about unregistered or broken cars kept on private land may still exist, and Wareham town hall is the place to ask.
- Can the town haul away a dead car left on a Wareham road?
- M.G.L. c. 90 s. In Wareham, 22C has three parts. The car seems left behind. Without anyone's permission, the Wareham car stayed more than 72 hours on a private road, a public road or land owned by someone else. Removing the Wareham car would cost more than it is worth. Then a street officer may act. The car can then be thrown out as refuse.
- Does the buyer get my plates?
- No. Wareham sellers keep their plates. Once the Wareham registration is cancelled on MyMassGov, slice the plates in two or give them to a recycler. A replacement car can take them during a seven-day grace period.
- Does my Wareham title signature have to be notarized?
- The RMV's private-sale instructions cover the mileage statement and each party signing, printing a name and dating the transfer block. A notary is not part of that list.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau: city and town population estimates, 2020-2025 www2.census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau: 2025 Gazetteer, county subdivisions (land area) www2.census.gov
- M.G.L. c. 90 s. 22C (abandoned vehicles) malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 266 s. 120D (removal from private property) malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 159B s. 6B (storage charges after police tows) malegislature.gov
- Mass.gov: Registration and title for a vehicle bought from an individual mass.gov
- Mass.gov: Cancel your vehicle registration and plates mass.gov
- Mass.gov: Transfer your registration to a vehicle bought from an individual mass.gov