Selling a dead car in West Valley City

Done with a car that no longer runs? We buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and there is free pickup anywhere in the US, which takes in every corner of West Valley City.

What the city code allows

The same section lists three affirmative defenses. The car may be "stored in connection with a lawfully situated and licensed business." It may be "completely covered by a vehicle cover manufactured for the specific purpose of covering vehicles," as long as it sits in a side or back yard behind the front of the house. Or it may be "in an enclosed accessory structure, such as a garage or barn."

A tarp over a sedan on the driveway fits none of those. If someone else's dead car sits on your lot, the code lets it "be removed upon the property owner's request," once the wrecker has proper departmental authorization.

The week-long test

The statute's own words describe a vehicle left "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." Beside a highway, two days does it; the cutoff there is 48 hours. In both cases it counts as an infraction, and an officer who has reasonable grounds can order the car towed.

Consent is the hinge. Your cousin's side yard, with your cousin's okay, is not abandonment. A supermarket lot on day eight is.

Towed already?

Now age matters. In West Valley City, the tow company can get a certificate of sale from the Motor Vehicle Division if no owner shows up. West Valley City applies the same rule. In West Valley City it applies once a car is at least eight model years old and has sat unclaimed for 30 days since the first notice. Count the age from impound day; the VIN settles the model year. The towed or impounded guide lays out options before that month ends.

Title work next door

Neighboring Taylorsville holds a Motor Vehicle Division office we checked, at Suite 1200, 4315 South 2700 West (801-297-7780). From the heart of West Valley City it is about 3 miles east as the crow flies. Utah titles come from the state, and any vehicle driven in Utah has to carry one, no matter how old.

Handing over the car

Utah's list for the new owner has three items: your signed title, the registration certificate that is current, and an emissions certificate when one applies. Salt Lake County, home to West Valley City, is one of five counties with testing. A notary plays no part.

Unscrew the plate first unless it is going with the car, so nobody else's tickets come back to your name. To report the sale by mail, put down the year, make, plate or VIN and sign it. West Valley City sellers send it by mail to the DMV contact center at P.O. Box 30412, Salt Lake City, ZIP 84130. West Valley City sellers may also use the Motor Vehicle Portal or call 1-800-DMV-UTAH. All the choices are on the Utah page.

Next door

Kearns is just 2.5 miles off, with Taylorsville at 3.9. West Jordan and South Salt Lake are 6.0 miles out each, and Salt Lake City is 7.4.

Getting an offer

For a West Valley City car, ring (877) 421-6008 or start with our offer form. The city covers about 35.8 square miles, from houses along 5600 West to the industrial blocks, and the truck goes to the car rather than the other way around.