Selling a junk car in Rockville Centre

What New York counts as abandoned

Vehicle and Traffic Law 1224 sets three clocks:

• 6 hours without plates on a street, lot or other public place
• 24 hours: more than that in public is the second test
• 96 hours on another person's property without permission

The government where the car sits, here the village, is the one entitled to custody. A plateless car valued at no more than $2,250 wholesale goes straight to the village, which can scrap it with no title. If the Rockville Centre car is worth more, the last owner gets a letter, an auction may come ten days after, and whoever reclaims it pays removal and storage.

A car on your own driveway

For Rockville Centre, Section 1224 is the rule on cars left in public or on another person's property. A dead car on its owner's own lot falls to local law instead. We couldn't find the village code, so phone village hall before you leave a car parked in the driveway. A neighbor's car left on your land is a separate problem; see abandoned car on your property.

If the registration simply ran out, renewal is possible online up to a year after it expired. A Rockville Centre owner can re-register the car at a DMV office or by mail once a year has passed. We found no fee charged for the skipped year.

The two papers a buyer needs

A transfer needs proof of ownership and proof of sale. For a Rockville Centre seller that means:

1. Your title, with your signature in the seller's block on the back.
2. A bill of sale on Form MV-912 naming you, the buyer, the car, the VIN, the price and the date. Make two copies.

No notary is part of either. The buyer gives the original bill of sale to the NYS DMV when titling the car. A gift is written as $0, with Form DTF-802 for sales tax.

Missing the title? A duplicate costs $20 on Form MV-902. $1,250 is the top value for a Rockville Centre car sold with Form MV-35. For a Rockville Centre sale, the car can be no newer than eight model years old. A car sold this way can go only to an itinerant collector, a certified scrap processor or a registered dismantler. The car leaves the title system for good. Our junk car with no title guide compares them.

The plates leave with you

Pull both plates and the windshield sticker at the sale. Rockville Centre sellers should keep coverage going while the plates are still out. Cancel once the DMV has them or they're on your new car. Plate frames and fasteners are not accepted, and the receipt is Form FS-6T. With no notice-of-sale filing in this state, that receipt is your record that the car left your name. After you sell lists what else to close out.

Getting an offer

Have a Rockville Centre car to sell? Call (877) 421-6008 or use the offer form. The offer form is the first step. Your curb, a parking lot or a garage bay can be the meeting point. Lynbrook is 1.9 miles away and Freeport 2.9; the New York page has statewide rules.