Richmond: selling a dead or junk car

The offense, and the notice that goes further

Section 27-328 makes it unlawful "to keep an inoperable motor vehicle on any property zoned for residential or commercial or agricultural purposes, except within a fully enclosed building or structure or otherwise shielded or screened from view." Each car counts as its own offense, so three dead cars mean three violations.

The definitions in 27-327 include a car that "for a period of 60 days or longer has been partially or totally disassembled by the removal of tires and wheels, the engine, or other essential parts." Here is the part people miss. Section 27-330 also lets the city notify an owner or occupant that an inoperable car outside a fully enclosed building is a nuisance, "whether or not such inoperable motor vehicle is shielded or screened from view," and that the city will remove it. A screen keeps you clear of the 27-328 offense, but the city can still order the car out.

Streets, alleys and the 48-hour line

Under section 27-329, nobody may leave an inoperable vehicle, motor home or trailer unattended on public property, "including on any street or roadway or in any alley, for more than 48 hours." The registered owner is presumed to be the person who left it there.

Big vehicles have their own rule. Section 27-203 bars parking very heavy vehicles, and any trailer or motor home, on a primarily residential or mixed residential-commercial block. A dead box truck or camper at the curb is a problem from day one.

Impound notices and auction dates

The city can send abandoned and inoperable abandoned cars to the vehicle compound. Cars with three or more unpaid parking tickets can be booted or towed. The city can remove an unattended car from private property only if the owner, lessee or occupant asks in writing and agrees to cover the city's costs. On private lots open to the public, signs must first warn that cars left more than 72 hours will be towed.

Once a car is towed, section 27-331 tells the compound to mail the owner and lienholders within 15 days, by registered or certified mail. That letter names the car, says where it is kept, and states your "right to reclaim the motor vehicle within 15 days after the date of the notice" once you pay towing, preservation and storage charges. Miss that and you waive your rights and consent to a public auction.

Auctions under 27-332 happen no earlier than 21 days after the notice. For an unattended car towed from private property, the auction waits until 61 days after the impound or 21 days after the notice, whichever is later. A buyer who plans to scrap the car can use the auction receipt alone: it is "sufficient title only for purposes of transferring the vehicle to a demolisher."

The DMV on West Broad Street

We checked the DMV office at 2300 West Broad Street, which sits about 2 miles north of downtown Richmond, as the crow flies. Its phone number was not listed where we looked. Richmond may have other offices; the DMV's location page lists them.

Virginia title and plate steps

Per the DMV, a car with a Virginia title can be sold start to finish online, with no dealer involved. For a paper title, the seller fills Section A on its face, starting with the buyer's name and address, then the actual mileage, the sale date and price, with each owner printing and signing. In Richmond as elsewhere in Virginia, the DMV's seller steps list no notary. At titling, the buyer owes the 4.15% Sales and Use Tax ($75 at least).

Then let the DMV know it is sold, by web, phone or counter. Skip it, and an insurer's later cancellation can leave the DMV showing a registered car with no insurance and lead to a license and registration suspension.

Unscrew the plates while the car is still at your Richmond curb. Sort out the Richmond plates first: move them to your next car, turn them in, or inactivate them, and then change the insurance. If six months or more are left, a refund may come back.

Headed for scrap? The demolisher need not put the car in its own name. Richmond yards can scrap an untitled car aged 10 or more model years once DMV runs a record search. See after you sell for the final steps.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online about your Richmond car. We reach rowhouse alleys, parking pads and shop lots. Petersburg is 23.0 miles away and Hopewell 19.2; the Virginia page has the statewide rules.