Selling a junk or dead car in Newport News

When a car no longer earns its spot in a repair shop: We buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, anywhere in the city's 68.996 square miles included.

The notice and its two clocks

Under Section 13-187, the director may send a letter to the record owner of the land holding the car. How much time you get depends on how the paper arrives:

• Handed to you in person: the deadline is "not less than twenty-four (24) or more than seventy-two (72) hours."
• Sent by first class mail: "not less than seven (7) days from the date of mailing."

Either way, the owner "shall immediately proceed to remove" the car. Licensed salvage dealers, demolishers, rebuilders, salvage pools and vehicle removal operators are exempt from the rule.

When the city does the towing

Ignore the deadline and Section 13-188 lets the city remove the car with its own crews or a contractor. The bill is the actual cost "plus a charge for administrative costs of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00)." If the notice went to someone other than the landowner, Section 13-189 bills that person, and any unpaid charge "shall constitute a lien against the real property."

Police have a shortcut for abandoned cars too. Section 26-201 lets the department hand an abandoned inoperable vehicle to a demolisher "without title and without following the notification procedures," as long as it checks the car really is inoperable first.

City parking lots offer no fallback. Section 26-182 bars parking any vehicle "for more than twenty-four (24) hours continuously" on a lot governed by that division.

Paperwork from Newport News

The Virginia DMV office we checked for the city is at 12730 Patrick Henry Drive (757-886-2863). It sits about 4 miles, as the crow flies, north of central Newport News. A trip may not be needed. The seller's work is done right on the title.

Every owner prints and signs in Section A, the assignment block on the title's face. Its first line takes the buyer's name and address; below go the true odometer number, the sale date and the price. Newport News sellers don't have to get the paperwork notarized. Once it's sold, tell the DMV on the web, by phone or in person. Skipping that step is how sellers end up with a suspension when the insurer later drops a car the DMV still thinks is theirs.

Unbolt the plates before the car rolls away. Put them on your next car or hand them back. A Newport News registration with six months or more to run may qualify for a refund.

One inspection note. Newport News is not on DMV's list of emissions localities, so a car garaged here needs the yearly safety inspection but no emissions test. A car that keeps failing that inspection is a common reason people sell. See failed inspection or rust.

Neighbors across the water

Hampton is 12.5 miles away, Portsmouth 17.5 and Norfolk 18.6, each measured in a straight line. The Virginia page holds the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Newport News owners can call (877) 421-6008 or send our offer form. Mention any city notice you have received. Around Newport News, our truck picks up at driveways, shop lots and curbs.