Selling a wrecked or junk car in Highland

Salvage, nonrepairable and the title brands

Utah law splits badly damaged cars into two groups.

• Salvage. A crash, a flood or some other event hurt the car so badly that fixing it safely runs past its fair market value. It also counts if an insurer or another jurisdiction has already called it salvage. The line sits at 100 percent of value.
• Nonrepairable. Worth nothing except as parts or scrap, or irreversibly designated by its owner for parts, scrap or destruction.

When a Highland salvage car is registered or sold again, Utah stamps the title "rebuilt and restored to operation," "in a flood and restored to operation," or "not restored to operation." For what each brand means when you sell, see Salvage title.

The notice rule for a branded title

If your car has a salvage certificate or branded title, you have to tell the buyer in writing before the sale. Any ad for it has to say so too. Keep a bill of sale as well. The DMV calls it proof the title legally changed hands, and form TC-843 works if you want one.

Highland's rules, and the state's

We found no online copy of Highland's city code, so this is state law, and Highland may set rules of its own. Under Utah statute, more than 48 hours unattended on a highway makes a car abandoned, and so does sitting "on public or private property for a period in excess of seven days without express or implied consent of the owner or person in control of the property." Highland owners who leave one that way face an infraction, and an officer with grounds can order it removed.

The DMV office we checked, 15 miles off

In Utah, titles come from the Tax Commission's motor vehicle division, not from the counties. From the middle of Highland, the office we checked is roughly 15 miles southeast as the crow flies, in Provo at 150 East Center, suite 1400, reached through 1-800-DMV-UTAH.

Most Highland sellers can finish without the drive:

1. Sign over the title; Utah has no notary step. With AND between two owners, both sign. With OR, either signs.
2. Within 48 hours of the sale the buyer should hold the title. Hand over the current registration too, plus an emission certificate if there is one. Highland registers in Utah County, which tests.
3. Pull the plate off a sold Highland car unless the buyer keeps it. Otherwise later tickets may land on you.
4. Report the sale on the Utah DMV's Motor Vehicle Portal, by phone, by mail or with form TC-502.

If the title is lost, a replacement costs $6.00, or TC-123 can hand the car straight to the buyer with no replacement at all. For the crash itself, see wrecked or totaled.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online about your Highland car. Mention any salvage brand on your Highland title in the form. We pick it up in Highland, or from a body shop 3.4 miles away in American Fork or 4 miles away in Lehi. The Utah page has the statewide rules.