Selling several junk cars at once

Below that line, it's simple: each car is its own sale. The paperwork for three cars is the paperwork for one car, done three times.

When selling cars starts to count as dealing

New York's Vehicle and Traffic Law 415 sets two separate tests, and either one is enough (NY VTL 415):

• A yearly count. Anyone who sells or offers for sale more than five motor vehicles, motorcycles or trailers in a calendar year is a dealer under the law.
• A display count. Anyone who displays, or lets someone display, three or more vehicles for sale at one time is a dealer too, however few they sell in the year.

The broader definition covers anyone "engaged in the business of buying, selling or dealing in motor vehicles", retail or wholesale. A dealer has to register under that section.

Two things follow from that wording. The yearly count runs by calendar year, so cars sold in December and January fall in different years. We confirmed this rule for New York only. For every other state we found no threshold in an official source, so we won't guess at one. If you're about to sell your fifth or sixth car of the year, ask your state's motor-vehicle agency first.

If the cars came from an estate, ask too. We didn't find an official page on estate sales to point you to.

Each car is its own sale

Selling a row of cars feels like one job, but the state sees one transfer per vehicle. For each car, check:

1. The title. Is it in your name, and is there a lien on it? A missing title on one car doesn't hold up the others. Our no-title guide covers the routes for that one.
2. The VIN. Match the number on the car to the number on its title. NMVTIS, the national title database, exists to protect buyers from fraud and unsafe vehicles and to keep stolen vehicles from being resold (vehiclehistory.gov). A buyer comparing VINs on a stack of titles will notice a mismatch.
3. The mileage. Whether you need to write it down depends on the car's model year (see the next section).
4. The signatures. Some states want more than a signature. Ohio, for one, makes the seller complete the ownership transfer on the title's reverse side and get that signature notarized (Ohio BMV), so three Ohio cars mean three notarized assignments.
5. The notice and the plates. Most states want to hear from the seller after each sale, and in most the plates stay with the seller. The table below has each state's rule.

Ohio shows the whole set for one car: the seller gets the title notarized, the buyer then gets 30 days, counted from the assignment or delivery, to file for a title (ORC 4505.06), and the plates stay with the seller while the registration ends at the sale (ORC 4503.12).

A simple habit helps: give each car a folder or envelope holding its title, the bill of sale, the notice receipt and a photo of the VIN. If a toll bill or parking ticket shows up for one of them a year later, you'll know which envelope to open.

Odometer rules depend on each car's model year

The federal odometer exemptions sit in 49 CFR 580.17, and they apply instead of the usual disclosure rules (49 CFR 580.17). For a mixed group of cars, sort them by model year:

So a 2004 pickup and a 2009 sedan can go without a mileage entry, but a 2013 hatchback in the same sale needs one. Your state can still ask for more on its own title form, so fill in any mileage line it prints.

What to file after each car, state by state

This is each state's step for telling the agency a car is gone, from the state packets we've checked. Repeat it for every car. Where a state has no notice, the cell says what protects the seller instead.

States that use online reporting usually ask for the VIN or plate number of each car, so keep them handy before you sit down to file. Our after you sell page goes deeper on plates.

Keep one, fix one, or sell them all?

When you have a few broken cars, the honest question is usually which one, if any, deserves the repair money. A few ways to sort them:

• Keep the one with the smallest, best-understood fault. A known problem with a known price beats a mystery. Our guide to repairs that cost more than the car helps put numbers on it.
• Let go of the ones that would need major work, such as a blown engine or a bad transmission, unless you have the time and parts to do it yourself.
• Sell any car that's stopping you from using the space. Some cities treat a stored junk car as a nuisance. Alabama's cities, for one, regulate it by local ordinance (Semmes, AL).
• Look at parting one out only if it's the right car and you have room to work. Our part out or sell whole guide walks through that call.

Get an offer for each car on its own before you decide. Grouping them can hide one that's worth more than the rest.

Selling a group of cars to us

We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and you can sell each one as it sits. Pickup is free anywhere in the US. When you ask, list every car separately:

• year, make, model and rough mileage
• what's wrong with it, or that it doesn't run
• who the title is in, and any lien on it
• where each car is parked, if they aren't all in one place

That lets us look at each car on its own merits and lets you see each offer side by side.

Would you rather talk it through? Call (877) 421-6008.

After the cars leave, file the notice for each one and deal with the plates the way your state wants, using the table above.