Selling a dead or junk car in Albuquerque

Private property: the certified-mail route

When the Mayor or the Chief has probable cause, the code calls for "written notice by certified mail" to the property owner and to the tenant or occupant. The letter orders the car removed, or a hearing requested, within seven consecutive days. If the plate or VIN identifies a registered owner who did not get that letter, the city mails one to that owner as well.

Seven days after mailing, if the car has not moved, the city can ask a court for an administrative search warrant and have it removed and impounded. Asking for a hearing puts that on hold. An impounded car comes back only after you pay the city's impoundment charges.

Four places are outside this section: "a vehicle in an enclosed building", a car at a business that services and repairs vehicles, an impound lot, and a vehicle that complies with sections 66-11-1 through 66-11-5 of state law.

Streets and other public places: the seven-day tag

Albuquerque's Section 8-5-2-3 covers any abandoned or dead car left in an alley, a street or another public way. It also reaches one on private land where the landowner never agreed. The tag orders removal "within seven consecutive days of the day the notification tag was affixed". The tag adds that the owner may pay for towing and storage.

The longer clock sits on the far side of the tow. Per the notice, an unclaimed car with unpaid charges "will be sold or otherwise disposed" unless handled "within 30 days from the date the notification tag was affixed". Cars with expired, altered or missing plates or VIN still get notice by mail, minus the normal one-business-day deadline.

What an impound costs the owner

Section 8-5-2-1 says impoundment charges include towing, storage and administrative fees, paid at the greater of the city's reasonable expenses "or (2) $50". Those expenses can include searching for owners and lienholders, mailing, appraisal, publication and sale costs, and unpaid parking violations. Section 8-5-2-7 adds that an owner who shows up during the tow can claim the car with proof of identity and ownership, but still owes the towing costs already run up.

Signs matter for short-notice moves. When a street is closed for an event or work, cars can be removed only after signs are posted "at least 24 hours prior to the removal". Our towed or impounded guide covers getting a car out of the lot.

For businesses: a two-car limit

One of the city's zoning standards for commercial uses, 4-3(D)(20)(a), says outdoor storage of inoperative vehicles "is limited to 2 vehicles at any time, which may not be parked for more than 14 calendar days in a 1-year period." A shop lot holding a customer's abandoned car can run into that.

The emissions test at change of ownership

Albuquerque is in Bernalillo County, the only county in New Mexico with emissions testing. Around Albuquerque, 1991 and newer vehicles up to 10,000 lbs GVW need a test every two years and at each sale. Cars in their first four years, diesels and dedicated electric vehicles are exempt. A car that fails is covered in failed emissions.

The MVD office and the sale

The Motor Vehicle Division handles titles. One field office we checked is at 9651 Eagle Ranch Rd. NW, about 6 miles north of central Albuquerque on a map. MVD's phone line is 1-888-683-4636. Bernalillo County may have other offices as well. Private MVD partners and city offices also do title work.

On the back of the title, assign it to the buyer and record the odometer reading. The Bill of Sale (MVD-10009) completes an assignment that is incomplete or out of room. No notary shows up in MVD's steps for sellers. The buyer gets 90 days to apply for a title and owes the 4% motor vehicle excise tax.

Take your plate off. Plates belong to the owner in New Mexico. An Albuquerque seller gets 30 days to hand the plate to MVD for destruction or switch it to a different vehicle in that class. Then, from Albuquerque, put form MVD-10048, the "Notice of Vehicle Sold", in the mail to the Santa Fe Sold Unit. Lying on it is a fourth degree felony, so take care.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form to sell your Albuquerque car. We pick up at a Northeast Heights home, an apartment lot, or the shop whose repair quote topped the car's value. Rio Rancho is 12.8 miles away and Los Lunas 22.5; for statewide rules, see New Mexico.