Selling a dead or junk car in Happy Valley

One month in the driveway

Section 8.08.250 is direct: "It is unlawful for any person to maintain any inoperable vehicle on private property for a period of time in excess of one month." Past that point the owner, or whoever controls the property, "shall be subject to abatement proceedings by the city."

Section 8.08.010 defines the car it means. It has "no current valid state vehicle license" and "cannot be moved without being repaired or dismantled," or it "is no longer usable for the purposes for which it was manufactured." A car in "a enclosed building" does not count, and neither does one at a business lawfully wrecking, junking or repairing vehicles.

Seven days, then 24 hours on the street

A car left on a Happy Valley street gets a slower start and a faster finish. Under Section 10.24.020, the city recorder acts "whenever a vehicle is reported abandoned upon the streets in the same position for a period of seven days." The recorder first tries to find the owner and asks that person to move it. If no owner turns up, the recorder sends what the car shows, such as its plate and VIN, to the state and posts a notice on the windshield.

That notice gives a day. The city "will cause the removal and impounding of the vehicle under the provisions of this chapter, 24 hours after the time of the posting," unless good cause is shown. Section 10.24.030 then treats a car still in place after those 24 hours as a nuisance, and the recorder has it towed and stored.

After the tow

The impounded car is appraised. The owner gets a mailed notice that "unless the owner redeems the vehicle within 15 days from the date of mailing the notice and pays all the costs, the vehicle will be sold." That $100 appraisal line from the top of this page is the cutoff for sending a car straight to the junkyard instead. If your car is already gone, see towed or impounded.

The DMV office we checked

Titles in Oregon come from the state DMV, not Clackamas County. The office we looked up for Happy Valley is in Lake Oswego at 3 SW Monroe Pkwy, Suite D, phone 503-299-9999. In a straight line it is roughly 10 miles west of central Happy Valley.

Emissions, title and plates

Every two years DEQ tests non-exempt cars registered within its Portland-area and Medford-area boundaries, and an online lookup tells you whether an address falls inside. Parked because it failed the test? You can sell it without a passing result; see failed emissions.

For the title, a Happy Valley seller signs on the back and writes the date, or hands over a bill of sale, and a former lender signs its release. Odometer paperwork applies to model years 2011 and newer that have not reached 20; both people sign it. The Oregon DMV seller steps do not list a notary.

Use DMV2U to report the sale inside 10 days, filling in who bought it and where that buyer lives. After that, Oregon law shields you from what the buyer does with the car. You may remove the plates; mount them on a car that someone else owns and the leftover registration on both is cancelled.

Getting an offer

Go online or call (877) 421-6008 about the Happy Valley car. For a car in Happy Valley, our offer form asks for what we need. Pickup can be on a hillside driveway, at a curb before the notice runs out, or at a shop. Close by: Milwaukie, Gresham and Oregon City, plus statewide rules on Oregon.