Selling a broken car as is: what you have to tell the buyer

So the short list is the odometer, the title assignment done your state's way, and any disclosure form your state adds. The rest of this page covers each one.

Are you a dealer in the FTC's eyes?

Probably not. The FTC rule counts you as a dealer once you've sold, or put up for sale, at least five used vehicles within a twelve-month stretch (16 CFR 455.1). The rule's duties are aimed at dealers, so a person selling one or two of their own cars a year falls outside the Buyers Guide requirement.

The Buyers Guide is the window form that tells shoppers whether a warranty comes with the car and on what terms. Dealers must post one on every used vehicle before offering it (16 CFR 455.2). If you've flipped five cars this year, that changes, and the rule may apply to you.

The disclosure nobody escapes: mileage

Federal odometer law covers all transfers of motor vehicles unless the Secretary of Transportation exempts them by regulation (49 U.S.C. 32705). The only exception the statute itself spells out is for certain new vehicles moving from manufacturer to dealer and renter. A broken car you're selling on the curb is not one of those.

What the statement has to say:

• The reading. The cumulative mileage on the odometer (49 U.S.C. 32705).
• Where it goes. On the title, or on the reassignment document, signed by you with your printed name (49 CFR 580.5).
• Why it matters to the buyer. A state can't license the car unless the buyer turns in your title with a signed and dated mileage statement, where the title has space for one (49 U.S.C. 32705).

Buyers who plan to resell can't take an incomplete statement at all; federal law bars someone acquiring a vehicle for resale from accepting one (49 U.S.C. 32705).

Many states stop asking for the reading once a car passes a certain age, and they set that line themselves. Colorado, Hawaii and Oregon, for example, tie it to model year 2011 and the first 20 years, and Utah drops its statement once a car is 20 years old. Check the table below before you skip the box.

When the odometer is broken or wrong

Broken cars often have broken clusters. If you know the odometer reading is different from the miles the car has actually traveled, federal law says to disclose that the actual mileage is unknown (49 U.S.C. 32705). Don't write a guess. Virginia's DMV says the same thing in plain words: enter the actual reading and do not estimate (Virginia DMV).

The cost of getting this wrong on purpose is steep. A person who violates the odometer law with intent to defraud is liable for three times the actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater (49 U.S.C. 32710).

Damage disclosure is a state question

There's no federal damage form for private sellers in the sources we checked, so this part comes down to where you live:

• North Carolina requires every seller to disclose known damage to the buyer on the Damage Disclosure Statement, MVR-181 (NCDMV).
• Iowa wants a damage disclosure on vehicles seven model years old or newer, alongside an odometer statement on cars nine model years old or newer (Iowa county treasurers).
• Wisconsin has the seller fill in a brand disclosure on the back of the title, along with the odometer statement and price (WisDOT).
• Minnesota tells sellers to complete any disclosure statements on the back of the title (DVS).

If the title already carries a brand, such as salvage or flood, the brand travels with the car whatever you say. Our salvage title guide covers what each brand means.

What we couldn't confirm

You'll read online that putting the words "as is" on the paperwork protects you from any later claim, or that it never protects you if you hid a known problem. We didn't find an official source we could verify for either claim for private sellers, so we're not stating a rule here. If a buyer is asking pointed questions about a defect, answer truthfully, and talk to a lawyer in your state if you're unsure what you owe them.

Sign the title the way your state wants

Most of the trouble in an as-is sale comes from paperwork, not the car. A few habits fix most of it:

• Leave nothing blank. Alaska warns that federal law bars the transfer if the assignment or odometer statement is incomplete (Alaska DMV). Mississippi calls a blank buyer name, left to fill in later, a violation of state law (Mississippi DOR).
• No white-out. Missouri bars correction fluid and erasures on the title (Missouri DOR), and Kentucky has you fix mistakes with a signed, notarized affidavit (Kentucky).
• Find out about the notary first. Pennsylvania's code has the owner's assignment "sworn to before a notary public or other officer empowered to administer oaths" (75 Pa.C.S.). Ohio also has the seller's signature notarized (Ohio BMV), and in Ohio the only statutory deadline belongs to the buyer: file for title within 30 days of assignment or delivery (ORC 4505.06). Montana went the other way and struck its notary requirement for the seller's signature, effective Oct. 1, 2025 (Montana SOS).
• Every owner signs. Maryland has all owners sign unless the title shows "OR" (MVA).

If the title is missing, start with our no-title guide. Once the car is gone, after you sell covers plates and the notice of sale.

What each state asks the seller to sign or disclose

One line per state from each state's own pages or statutes. It covers the seller's side of the title and any disclosure the state names, not every step of the transfer.

Fix it first, or sell it as is?

Fixing the car doesn't get you out of the paperwork. The mileage statement and your state's forms apply either way. So the choice is only about money and time.

Fixing makes sense when the repair is small next to what a running version of the car would sell for, and you trust the quote. It rarely makes sense when one repair is likely to uncover the next, when the shop can't say what's wrong, or when the title already carries a brand that caps what any buyer will pay. Selling as is also means you can describe the car simply and accurately: it doesn't run, and here is what you know.

For a car that won't start at all, our non-running car guide walks through the options.

Selling your broken car to us

We buy whole non-running and junk cars. There's no repair to arrange: sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US. Have the title ready, signed the way your state wants, and fill in the mileage, or "actual mileage unknown" if the odometer is off.

Ready to sell it as is? Get an offer online, or call (877) 421-6008.