Selling a wrecked or dead car in Merrimack

What the zoning ordinance says

The wording sits in Section 1.03, the definitions part of the Merrimack Zoning Ordinance and Building Code. Two parts matter to someone with a dead car:

• Junk includes wrecked, dismantled or junked cars and their parts, not just loose metal.
• Junk belongs in a commercial junk yard that holds a license, and nowhere else.

The ordinance also says violators are "subject to the criminal and civil fines and penalties pursuant to Section 10" of the town's rules. The text we found sets no grace period and no notice deadline. The town may handle those steps under its own rules, so ask Town Hall if you get a letter.

The state's junk yard rule

State law reaches the same place another way. Keep 2 or more cars that are "no longer intended or in condition for legal use," including ones bought to strip for parts or scrap, and under RSA 236 the spot where they sit counts as a motor vehicle junk yard. Operating one requires a state junk-yard license plus approval of the location itself. You file the application with the local governing body.

After a crash: salvage and the insurer

Wrecked cars often go through an insurance claim first. When an insurer declares a car a total loss, it has 20 days from paying the claim to seek a salvage title, and the state charges it $10 (RSA 261:22). The statute sets no damage percentage; the total-loss call is what brands the car. Signatures that move ownership to the insurer after payment need no notary. A salvage car needs a salvage inspection before anyone can register it again. If you kept the car instead of handing it over, see insurer totaled it.

Handing over the title

RSA 261:14 requires the owner, on handing the car over, to assign the title to the new owner and warrant it. In practice, you list the buyer and their address plus the odometer reading on the reverse, you each sign, and the title rides away with the car. A shredder or crusher receives the title the same way. A car from before model year 2000 has no title in this state; form TDMV 22A serves as the bill of sale instead.

Lost the title? Form TDMV 18 replaces it for $35, and the state says to allow roughly 30 to 50 calendar days.

Your plates

Keep them. Selling ends the registration, and the lapsed registration is worth holding on to because it earns transfer credit at the town clerk on your next car. After the plates go on a different car, driving the old one is illegal.

Towns around Merrimack

Bedford is 5.8 miles away as the crow flies, Londonderry 6.7, Nashua 7.3, Hudson 8.4 and Manchester 10.0. For a car hurt in an accident, see wrecked or totaled. Statewide steps are on New Hampshire.

Getting an offer

Merrimack owners can start by sending our short offer form. Use the form, or call (877) 421-6008. The pickup truck comes to it, whether that is behind the house, at a body shop, or far down a gravel drive.