Selling a junk or dead car in Rapid City

What we could not find

We looked and couldn't find Rapid City's ordinances. Each rule below is from South Dakota statutes. Local limits on dead cars in yards or along streets could still exist, and they might not match the state's. State law points the same way: it hands removal to local removal agencies, which leaves the rule for an unused car in a yard to a city or county ordinance.

How state law sorts dead cars

Chapter 32-36 declares abandoned, derelict and junk motor vehicles a public hazard and blight. Its definitions are narrower than many people expect:

• A vehicle counts as abandoned if it is "left on a public street or highway," or sits on private land the owner or tenant never okayed.
• This chapter calls a motor vehicle junk once it is on a recognized junk dealer's lot in Rapid City for salvage.

That means this chapter doesn't count a dead car in your own driveway, there with your okay, as either one. That is why any local rule matters so much here.

When a removal agency tows a car

A public body may remove the car in Rapid City, or hire or appoint a company to do it, and private or nonprofit groups can do it too. It may enter private land to remove a car only after the owner or tenant authorizes it. The state's process from there:

1. The Department of Revenue gives the agency the last known title holder's address and any lienholders, free of charge.
2. Within 45 days after removal, the agency mails notice by certified mail to the registered owner and lienholders on a DOR form. If the owner is unknown, it publishes notice once in a newspaper.
3. It cannot charge storage for more than 10 days until that notice is mailed.
4. The owner or lienholder can reclaim the car within 30 days and must tell the DOR they intend to. After 30 days, title is "irrevocably vested" in the removal agency.
5. Next, that Rapid City agency seeks a salvage title or a title stamped "abandoned vehicle."

Selling your car in Pennington County

Titling and registration happen at the county treasurer's office, so in Rapid City that is the Pennington County treasurer. The seller has three things to handle:

• The seller's permit. Give the buyer a free 45-day permit, printed online with my605drive or at the treasurer's kiosk. With it they can legally drive until the car is titled to them. You get 45 days to hand over the title. Skipping it is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
• The report of sale. SDCL 32-5-2.10 has you file it "at the time of sale" with the buyer's name and address. Not filing is also a Class 2 misdemeanor.
• The forms. Rapid City sellers can use DOR's bill of sale, odometer disclosure and "Seller's Report of Sale". Its seller steps list no notary.

Lost the title long ago? The treasurer's office sells a duplicate for $10. The junk car with no title guide covers the rest.

Plates stay with you

South Dakota is a "plate with owner" state. SDCL 32-5-2.7 has you take the plates off when you sell. Put them on another vehicle and the months left count as credit. There is no refund if you never reattach them, and the state manual lists a $5.00 reassignment fee. A Rapid City seller who leaves them on the sold car faces a Class 2 misdemeanor and gives up the credit.

Taking it apart needs a junking certificate

An owner who dismantles a car to sell its parts applies for a junking certificate. The plates, registration card and title go with the application, the DOR cancels them, and any lienholder must consent on the title. A junking certificate can never be turned back into a title. Removing the identification numbers is a Class 6 felony. A title marked nonrebuildable or parts only also leads to a junking certificate.

Insurance totals and out-of-state titles

Theft, fire, vandalism, collision, weather, or water or flood submersion: if an insurer totals a Rapid City car after any of these, it gets salvage status. No repair-cost percentage is set; the insurer's decision is the test. The rule skips vehicles more than ten model years old. A car carrying another state's salvage brand gets a South Dakota salvage title or, if the owner chooses, a junking certificate.

There is no emissions test in South Dakota, and the state's private-sale steps include no inspection.

Getting an offer

Start with the form or call (877) 421-6008. Selling in Rapid City? Use the offer form and mention any title brand. We pick up anywhere in town, from a west side driveway to a garage up in the hills or a lot downtown. Rapid City sits far from the other South Dakota towns on this site; Aberdeen is 252.1 miles away as the crow flies. See South Dakota for the statewide page.