What to do with a nonrepairable, junk or parts-only title

The federal definition

Federal law draws the line plainly. A junk automobile is one that is "incapable of operating on public streets, roads, and highways" and is worth nothing beyond its parts or scrap (49 U.S.C. 30501).

Compare that with a salvage automobile, which the same section defines by cost: a car hurt in a crash, fire, flood, accident, trespass or similar event so badly that its fair salvage value plus the repair cost would be more than it was worth before. Some states let a salvage car be rebuilt and retitled. A junk car, by definition, can't be put back on the road.

The word on your title depends on the state

States don't agree on what to call it. Some examples from their own rules:

• Arkansas: PARTS ONLY, with "Not for Registration" printed on the title (DFA)
• Connecticut: UNREPAIRABLE (Conn. Regs. 14-174-3)
• Illinois: a junking certificate (625 ILCS 5/3-117.1)
• Arizona, Colorado, Kansas and Texas: nonrepairable, as a certificate, brand or designation (see the table)
• Tennessee: a Non-repairable Certificate (Dept. of Revenue)
• Michigan: a scrap title, which unlike a salvage title can't be rebuilt for the road (SOS dealer manual)
• Rhode Island: Class A, for extensive damage and good for parts only, set apart from repairable Class B (R.I. Gen. Laws 31-46-1.1)

One trap: "junk" doesn't mean the same thing everywhere. Alaska's Junk brand is what an insurer total loss gets, and Alaska lists a Salvage brand for junk-branded cars not yet rebuilt, plus a Reconstructed brand (2 AAC 92.170). So read your own state's rule before deciding the car is finished.

Why it can't go back on the road

Where the brand means parts only, the states we read close the door on retitling:

• Pennsylvania says a nonrepairable vehicle can't be run safely, is worth something only for parts or scrap, and is never rebuilt or retitled (75 Pa.C.S. 102).
• Alabama won't issue a certificate of title for a car that already got a junk or parts-only certificate, and that includes the same kind of title from another state (Ala. Admin. Code 810-5-75-.48).
• Ohio says a car whose title was marked "FOR DESTRUCTION" and surrendered to a clerk may be used for nothing except parts and scrap metal (R.C. 4505.11).
• Kansas heads its statute "Vehicles sold for salvage, no certificate of title may be issued", and a car crushed or recycled after a licensed salvage dealer strips its parts doesn't get a new title (K.S.A. 8-1,137).

That rules out "fix it and drive it." Spending on repairs only makes sense for a car whose brand still allows a rebuild, which is a salvage title, not this one.

Who buys a parts-only car

The rules are written around the businesses that take these cars apart.

Ohio. A salvage dealer who dismantles or destroys a car marks the title "FOR DESTRUCTION", adds its salvage license number and surrenders the title; it doesn't need to put the title in its own name first. An insurer that finds a car impossible to restore for highway use can mark the title the same way and assign it to a scrap processor or salvage dealer (R.C. 4505.11).

Alabama. The rule covers licensed automotive dismantlers and parts recyclers, secondary metals recyclers, and anyone else who takes a car to dismantle, crush or recycle it. A recycler outside Alabama can give notice of junk cancellation with Form MVT 5-48 and the properly assigned Alabama title (810-5-75-.48).

Kansas. A licensed salvage vehicle dealer has to remove the parts before the car goes to a scrap processor. When that dealer sells a major component part to a licensed vehicle dealer, the sale needs a receipt and a copy of the car's title as proof of legal possession (K.S.A. 8-1,137).

For you as the owner, the practical point is simple: keep the title, sign it over, and file away the signed sale receipt.

The VIN keeps the record

You can't hide a junk history, and you shouldn't try. Federal law makes junk yard and salvage yard operators send a monthly inventory report to whoever runs the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (49 U.S.C. 30504). NMVTIS can show whether a VIN has been reported as a junk or salvage automobile, which is how a careful buyer checks a car before paying (49 U.S.C. 30502).

If you're in Ohio and scrapping it yourself

Ohio puts the paperwork on the owner too. When a car is dismantled, destroyed or changed so it's no longer a motor vehicle, each owner has to hand the title to a common pleas court clerk (R.C. 4505.11). Changing a title to salvage is done at a Clerk of Courts title office, with a notarized application marked Salvage plus fees (Ohio BMV).

Junk and parts-only words, state by state

From each state's salvage rules. Where those rules show no junk or parts-only brand, the cell gives the closest thing they do say.

Fix it, strip it, or sell it whole

Fixing it for the road is off the table when the brand bars a new title. Don't pay a shop to make a parts-only car run.

Stripping it yourself can bring in more, piece by piece, but it takes tools, space and time, and the leftover shell still has to go to a recycler with the title. In Kansas, the rules on selling major parts are written for licensed salvage dealers. Weigh it up with part it out or sell it whole.

Selling it whole is the short route. We buy whole non-running and junk cars. Have the title ready, tell us the exact word printed on it, and sell the whole car as it sits. Pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Not sure what your title's brand means for a sale? Call (877) 421-6008.

After pickup, deal with the plates and file the notice of sale your state asks for; after you sell lists each state's rule.