Selling a dead or junk car in McMinnville

What Chapter 8.10 says

The chapter excerpts we read make three points. Junk includes "vehicles, motor vehicle parts, abandoned automobiles." There is a single exemption: "This section does not apply to junk kept in a licensed junkyard or automobile" wrecking business. And the city may step in and remove the nuisance itself.

What those excerpts do not give is a deadline. We found no number of days in them for how long a car can sit before the city acts, so no McMinnville owner should assume there is a grace period. If you have a notice in hand, it should state the time you have; our guide to a notice to remove a car covers the usual choices.

Left on a McMinnville property by someone else

Renters move out and leave cars behind. Visitors stop paying for a repair and stop answering the phone. Oregon has a set procedure for that, and it is not keeping the car. The DMV says it outright: "You cannot claim ownership of an abandoned vehicle on your property."

What a McMinnville owner or lawful possessor can do, under ORS 98.830, is order a tow after a posted notice has stayed on the vehicle 72 hours or longer, backed by a signed form that identifies the car and its spot. DMV hands out no form for this and keeps the registered owner's name to itself. Our page on a car abandoned on your property has more.

The other side of that tow is just as firm. ORS 819 makes abandoning a vehicle an offense whether it is left on a road, public land or private land, and whoever DMV lists as owner carries the cost of towing and disposal. A towed car left unclaimed for 30 days goes to public auction in Oregon, or local ordinance settles what happens to it. One that a certified appraiser puts at $1,000 or less can go once the registered owner and secured parties have been told and photos have been taken.

The DMV office in town

The brick building in the photo above is the county clerk, but in Oregon the clerk does not issue car titles. The state DMV does, and its McMinnville field office stands at 2260 NE McDaniel Ln, about a mile northeast of downtown McMinnville as the crow flies. Call 503-472-2900.

Signing the car over

The Oregon DMV seller steps are short. A McMinnville seller dates and signs the title on its back, or signs a bill of sale. A lender from an old loan signs to release interest. In McMinnville, a car from 2011 or later that hasn't reached 20 needs an odometer statement signed by buyer and seller. No notary step appears in those instructions.

If the title is gone, get the replacement before you sell; Oregon will not let a lost one wait. Next, you have 10 days to put the notice of sale into DMV2U, listing who bought it and their address. That notice plus the signed title keeps the buyer's parking or abandonment trouble off your record.

Plates may come off before the sale. Bolt them onto a car that belongs to another person later and the registration time left on both vehicles is gone.

Getting an offer

For a McMinnville car, call (877) 421-6008 or write online. Start your McMinnville offer on our form. Our truck reaches a driveway, a shop lot, or a farm lane past the edge of town. Nearby, see Newberg, Keizer and Salem, or the statewide rules on Oregon.