Selling an old or dead car in American Fork

Paperwork for an older car

On most Utah sales, the owner and the buyer each sign TC-891, the Odometer Disclosure Statement. An American Fork car that has reached 20 years skips that one.

Age does not get a car out of a title, though. The DMV's title FAQ says every vehicle operated in Utah, whatever its model year, must be titled, small trailers aside. So an old car that has sat for years still changes hands on its title.

The handover is the title with your signature on it, this year's registration certificate, and an emission certificate if the car has one. After the deal, American Fork sellers have two days, 48 hours, to get the title into the buyer's hands. If the car has been parked so long the paperwork has wandered off, see car sitting for years.

Who signs

Older titles often carry two names, and Utah settles it by one word. AND between the names means both owners sign. OR means one signature is enough. Neither signature needs a notary.

A bill of sale is worth the minute

The DMV calls a bill of sale important because it proves the title was legally transferred. Form TC-843 is the state's version, and either party can use it. For a car sold as is, it is the paper that shows when the car stopped being yours.

The DMV office, and when you can skip it

In Utah the title comes from the state, through a motor vehicle division that sits under the Tax Commission, not from Utah County. Starting from the middle of American Fork, the office we checked is about 12 miles southeast as the crow flies, on East Center in Provo, number 150, suite 1400. You reach it by dialing 1-800-DMV-UTAH.

Reporting the sale needs no trip there. Use the Utah DMV's Motor Vehicle Portal, call, or post a short signed note listing year, make, and plate or VIN. Form TC-502 also counts. A missing title is handled on TC-123, which lets an American Fork seller sign the car straight over without first ordering a replacement; a replacement alone is $6.00.

Plates and the junk-car rules

The plate is yours to unscrew unless the buyer is getting it with the car. Leave it on and tickets the car earns later can come back to you.

We found no American Fork city code published online, so the yard rules here are the state's, and the city may add its own. Utah treats a car as abandoned after two days unattended on a highway, or after a week-plus parked on land whose owner never agreed to it. That is an infraction, and the car can be hauled off by an officer with grounds to do it.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, give us the make and year, the mileage, whether the engine starts, and the title's status. On 11.428 square miles with Pleasant Grove 2.9 miles off and Highland 3.4, the truck can meet the car in town or next door. Statewide rules are on the Utah page.