Selling a junk car in Lynbrook

How a car gets presumed abandoned

The same section names a second trigger. A car is presumed abandoned if it "is parked or abandoned on any street or highway within the village during a snowstorm, flood, fire or other public emergency."

The definition of motor vehicle is wide. It covers anything "propelled by any power other than muscular power," and names snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and "any other vehicle powered by an electric, natural gas, gasoline or diesel engine." A dead ATV on a trailer at the curb is in scope.

The bill for getting it back

Once removed, the car goes to a place picked by the Mayor or Clerk, held "until the owner or operator of such vehicle shall call for and remove same." Before it leaves, "the owner of such vehicle shall pay the cost of towing the vehicle and the cost of storage for each day or portion of a day." The Clerk notifies the owner of the removal and "the amount required to be paid."

Cars nobody claims have their own fate. The village may "convert to its own use in any calendar year up to 1% of its unclaimed abandoned vehicles" for police use, or hand them to another town's police. The rest follow state law. Fines stopping your renewal? Read tickets or registration hold. Car already sitting in a lot? Read towed or impounded.

What the state asks of a seller

Two documents carry the sale. The title gets your signature in the seller's assignment area. Form MV-912, the bill of sale, gets both names, the VIN, price and date, and you keep a copy. New York requires no notary for either. The buyer registers the car at a NYS DMV office with the original bill of sale.

A missing title can be replaced on Form MV-902 for $20. An owner with no valid title can also use Form MV-35 for a car that is eight model years or older and worth $1,250 or under. The only eligible buyers are registered dismantlers, certified scrap processors and itinerant collectors. The owner and the driver bringing it in each add government ID, and the car can't get a title after that.

Close out the registration

At the sale, remove the plates and windshield sticker. Give them back to the DMV or transfer them to another vehicle at once, and only then cancel the insurance. The surrender receipt is Form FS-6T. No other paper tells the state you sold, so store that receipt alongside your bill of sale copy. After you sell has the full list.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Give us the model year and name, the miles, if it still drives, and the title's location. Driveway, side street or shop lot, we can load it from any of them. Valley Stream is 1.7 miles away and Rockville Centre 1.9; for state rules see New York.