Medford: selling a car that's dead or junk

The DEQ test, and why it catches dead cars

DEQ requires non-exempt passenger vehicles registered in the Portland and Medford metro areas to be tested every two years. Models from 1996 and newer get an OBD plug-in test. Models from 1995 and older get a tailpipe test. DEQ runs a boundary lookup on its site, so you can type in the registration address and see whether it falls inside the Medford area.

If the car failed, or you already know it would, our failed emissions guide covers the choices. One point in your favor: renewing a lapsed registration later costs the same fee as any registration under ORS 803.455, so there is no stack of back fees. Letting it lapse while you drive it, though, is a Class D traffic violation.

Medford's own rules

Medford's city code wasn't online when we searched, so the junk-car rules here are Oregon's. Medford might still cap how long broken or stored cars can stay. Check with the city before you plan around state law alone.

Oregon law gives three clocks that matter for a car that has stopped moving:

1. 72 hours. Under ORS 98.830, the owner or lawful controller of private land in Medford posts a notice on an abandoned car. After at least 72 hours, they sign a form listing the car and location and can have it removed. DMV supplies no form and will not hand out the owner's name.
2. 30 days. A towed Medford car nobody picks up in 30 days goes to public auction or gets handled under local ordinance.
3. $1,000. An abandoned Medford car a certified appraiser values at $1,000 or less may be disposed of. Someone photographs the Medford car first, then notices go out to the registered owner and any secured parties.

If a car is abandoned, the person DMV lists as owner still pays to tow it and get rid of it. That is a good reason to deal with it before a tow truck shows up. If it already was, see towed or impounded.

When the insurer called it totaled

Under ORS 801.527, an Oregon car counts as totaled once an insurer takes its title or rules it a total loss. Two other cases count too: a stolen car that is not recovered within 30 days and was not insured, and uninsured damage where repairs would cost at least 80 percent of the car's retail value before the damage. The title then goes to DMV, or to the insurer, within 30 days. If you are not planning to drive it and it has not been declared junk or scrap, you can get a salvage title for $27. A Totaled brand stays on the Oregon title. More in insurer totaled it.

Title work at Medford Center

Titles in Oregon are issued by the state DMV, part of ODOT. Medford's DMV that we looked at sits at 987 Medford Center Dr, Medford. Its phone is 541-776-6025. That is under a mile west of central Medford, as the crow flies. For DMV Services by mail, Medford owners use 1905 Lana Ave NE, Salem OR 97314.

What the seller does:

• Sign and date your Medford title on the back, or use a bill of sale. If you are not named on the title, give the buyer a bill of sale that shows the VIN, a release of interest, each seller's printed name and signature, and the date, at the least.
• Have the lienholder sign off if there was a loan.
• For 2011 and newer cars under 20 years old, fill in an odometer disclosure signed by both sides.
• Log the sale in DMV2U inside 10 days and list who bought it and their address.

DMV's seller steps list no notary. DMV also will not take a dismantler's or wrecker's bill of sale in place of a title, so a lost title has to be replaced before you sell. The regular title fee applies, with no separate duplicate fee.

Plates

You may take your plates off before you sell. Medford plates may go only onto another car you own. Move them to someone else's car and both cars lose the registration they had left.

Nearby towns

Ashland is 12.7 miles away, Grants Pass 25.4, Klamath Falls 55.5 and Roseburg 66.4, all measured in a straight line. The Oregon page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Start online or call (877) 421-6008. Start on our form for Medford. The truck comes where it died: east of the freeway, near Medford Center, or at the repair shop.