Selling a junk or dead car in Chesterfield

If the car is finished, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, from a cul-de-sac off Clarkson Road to a shop lot near the airport.

The state timelines that cover Chesterfield

With no city text to quote, these are the Missouri clocks that apply here:

• 48 hours on private land. Under Section 304.157, law enforcement may authorize towing of abandoned property left unattended on private real property for more than 48 hours, or sooner if it is a safety hazard.
• 10 hours on a freeway. Near Chesterfield, Section 304.155 permits clearing abandoned property off an urban interstate or freeway once ten hours pass.
• 5 working days to notify. After a tow, Section 304.158 requires a letter to the registered owner and any lienholder inside five working days.
• 30 days, or 10. Section 304.156 has a city or county hold an abandoned vehicle 30 days after that notice. A towed car past six years old, more than 50% damaged and valued under $200 is kept just 10 days before a licensed salvage or scrap business takes it.

Section 304.157 also says a local government may provide for towing from real property by ordinance. That line is why a Chesterfield rule could be stricter than anything above.

No title? A scrap buyer may still take it

Missouri gives old, dead cars a path that newer ones do not get. Thanks to Section 301.227, a missing title doesn't stop a dead Chesterfield car aged ten or more model years from being sold for scrap to a metal operator. First the operator checks for liens online. After that, the Department of Revenue receives a copy of your state ID along with the bill of sale for the Chesterfield car. Cars 20 model years old skip that lien check.

The law's idea of inoperable is narrow: "rusted, wrecked, discarded, worn out, extensively damaged, dismantled and mechanically inoperative," with scrap as its best use. Your Chesterfield bill of sale includes a sworn statement that the car is ten or more model years old, doesn't run, has no liens and is yours. More on this in junk car with no title.

Signing over a Chesterfield car

Chesterfield sellers need no notary for signing the Missouri title. Fill in the mileage and sale date yourself. Correction fluid or erased marks on the title are not allowed.

Pull the plates before the car leaves, current or expired. The Chesterfield seller then sends the Department of Revenue a DOR-1957 (Bill of Sale) or a DOR-5049 (Notice of Sale). The deadline is 30 days. On newer titles, a Notice of Sale (DOR-5049A) is part of the form and tears off.

St. Louis County is among the four areas where a Chesterfield seller supplies an emissions inspection done in the last 60 days, plus a safety inspection certificate also done in the last 60 days. Lost the Chesterfield title? A duplicate runs $8.50 plus a $9 processing fee. Apply at any Missouri license office or the Motor Vehicle Bureau in Jefferson City.

Around Chesterfield

Straight-line distances: Ballwin 4.6 miles, Maryland Heights 6.9, Wildwood 7.5 and St. Peters 8.7. For all the statewide rules together, see the Missouri page.

Getting an offer

For a quote on your Chesterfield car, call (877) 421-6008 or use our online form. Chesterfield pickups happen wherever the car is: a garage in the Burkhardt Historic District, the lot at your job, or a repair shop that couldn't fix it.