Selling a junk car in Pawtucket

Three labels in one ordinance

Pawtucket's Abandoned, Nonoperational and Motor Vehicle Ordinance borrows two definitions from Rhode Island law and writes a third:

• Abandoned: a car "that is inoperable and over eight years old and is left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours", or one illegally on public property past three days.
• Abandoned, no value: the same structure for a car "over 10 years old". State statute adds an expired registration, a missing sticker, and a fair market value capped at $500.
• Nonoperational: a car "left unattended on private property for more than three days, which does not have lawfully affixed thereto both an unexpired license plate or plates and a current motor vehicle safety inspection certificate", in a condition "wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled or inoperative."

That last label reaches cars that never see a street, like a sedan in a side yard with old plates and a seized engine. Sitting for years covers what tends to fail on those.

Who sends notice

Either the Police Department or the city's Division of Zoning and Code Enforcement may act. Pawtucket's notice lists the make, model, year and serial number, names the storage spot, and spells out what follows if the car goes unclaimed. It warns that "the city or its designee shall undertake such removal with the cost of removal to be levied against the owner of the vehicle if known."

Owners and lienholders keep a right to reclaim "within three weeks after the date of the notice" by paying every towing, preservation and storage charge.

Where auction money goes

Unclaimed cars can be sold. "Any remainder from the proceeds of a sale shall be held for the owner of the vehicle or entitled lienholder for 90 days", and after that the money lands in a special abandoned motor vehicle fund that covers costs on other cars.

Title office and state rules

Rhode Island titles are state documents. Of the DMV offices we checked, Diamond Hill Road in Woonsocket (number 2000, phone (401) 356-4031) is about 11 miles northwest of downtown Pawtucket as the crow flies.

In Pawtucket, a seller of a 2001 or newer car signs the title's reverse side and fills in the odometer miles. Your bill of sale should list year, make, model, VIN, color and the agreed price, signed with your address. The scrapper at the end of the line must mail that title back to the DMV to be cancelled; junkyard or scrap yard explains the roles.

The plates stay with you. Statute says you need not return them if another car is registered within 10 days. If not, cancel online and save the confirmation.

Getting an offer

Reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the online form with the model, odometer reading, running condition and title status. With free pickup anywhere in the US, a riverside lot works, and so does a driveway in Central Falls, Providence or Lincoln. See Rhode Island for state rules.