How to sell a dead car in Smithfield

If the car is done, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, from Georgiaville to the far corners of Smithfield's 26 square miles.

When state law calls a car abandoned

Section 31-42-1 sets out three cases:

• won't run, is "over eight years old", and has sat on public property past 48 hours
• left parked illegally on public property for over 3 days
• left on private property "without the consent of the owner" more than 3 days

A car in your own driveway, with your consent, is not in any of those groups. A dead car left on a relative's lot or a business's lot after they asked you to move it can be.

What the police do, step by step

1. After a vehicle survey report, a police department may take an abandoned car into custody, on public or private land.
2. A notice is posted on the car, giving 48 hours' warning of the tow.
3. Within 15 days, Smithfield mails a registered letter to the car's last registered owner and any lienholder.
4. The owner can reclaim the car within three weeks by paying the towing and storage.
5. Unclaimed cars go to a police auction, and whoever wins one gets it with no liens attached.

Losing a car this way means paying a tow bill on a car you could have sold. If one is already gone, see towed or impounded.

No registration? There is a police route

When a car has been parked a long time, its registration card is often long gone. Under section 31-42-7, an owner with a faulty, lost or destroyed registration can apply to the local police department. The Smithfield application is signed under oath. Fill in who you are and where you live, plus the car's serial number, model, make and year, and describe what happened to it. Once the notice period runs out, the department grants a certificate of authority, and a demolisher takes it "in lieu of" the registration.

Title and plates

Titles in Rhode Island are state-issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles. About 8 miles north of the Smithfield town center sits the Woonsocket DMV branch, 2000 Diamond Hill Road, (401) 356-4031.

On a 2001 or newer car in Smithfield, the transfer happens on the title's reverse. Seller signs first, buyer second, and the odometer miles go in. Earlier cars get no title until they change hands, though the owner may ask for one for $50. Give your Smithfield buyer a bill of sale too. The Smithfield bill of sale shows the price, color, VIN and the car's model, make and year, signed by you with your address next to it. Our bill of sale guide has the layout.

The plates stay yours. Use the DMV's online cancellation and hold on to the confirmation email, which is your proof. Smithfield owners who prefer paper can leave the Affidavit for Cancellation of Registration in a DMV branch drop box, with ID or a registration copy.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the online form. We will ask about the car, its mileage, if the engine starts, and who has the title papers. Pickup happens where the car sits, behind a house off Farnum Pike or in a shop lot in Lincoln. Statewide rules live on the Rhode Island page.