Selling a dead or junk car in Virginia Beach

Seven days to fix it, seven days to appeal

A Section 16-40 notice says the inoperable car is a violation "which must be abated within seven (7) days from the date of such notice." You have four ways to meet it: put the car in a fully enclosed structure, screen or shield it from view, remove it, or get it running. Failing all four "shall constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor."

The same week is your appeal window. Either the vehicle's owner or the landowner may file "a written notice of appeal with the code enforcement administrator of the department of housing and neighborhood preservation within seven (7) days from the date of the notice." For this section, owner means the car's owner, or the property owner if the car's owner "cannot be ascertained or readily located." Our guide to a notice to remove a car walks through the choices.

After the city removes it

Reclaiming is allowed "at any time from the date of removal, up to and including the twentieth day of storage," once towing, preservation and storage are paid. Where an auction falls short of the costs, the gap lands on whoever owns the car or the land, and it "may be collected by the city as taxes and levies are collected."

Four days in one spot

Section 16-41 covers cars left out in the open. A vehicle is presumed abandoned if it "lacks either a current license plate, or a current county, city or town license decal, or a valid state safety inspection decal," and "it has been in a specific location for four (4) days without being moved." Each removal is reported to the Chief of Police, who notifies the owner and the DMV. Getting it back means paying every reasonable cost of towing, storage and tracking you down. An abandoned car that is inoperable and worth less than the cost of fixing it "may be disposed of to a demolisher, without title and without notification procedures."

If police called the tow

When a car is towed at police request, Section 21-407.1 caps the tow company's fees and requires a legible receipt for every fee collected. It must show the time, date and place of the tow, the operator's name and the tow service's name. The company must also offer a survey and comment form developed by the towing advisory board. If your car is in a tow yard, read our towed or impounded guide.

Not on the street with a sign

Section 21-304 bans leaving a vehicle on a street, alley or parkway "for the purpose of selling or offering the same for sale," and bans sale signs or lettering on one parked there.

The Virginia Beach DMV office we checked

In Virginia Beach, the Buckner Boulevard DMV customer service center sits at 3551 Buckner Boulevard, Virginia Beach, VA 23453-5101 (757-416-1676). Measured directly, it's around 4 miles west of the city's center. A city this big probably has other offices besides the one we found.

Title, tax and plates

On the front of the title is Section A, the seller's block. A Virginia Beach sale needs the buyer's name and address written down, along with the date, the price and the true odometer reading. After that, each owner prints and signs. Virginia Beach sellers won't see a notary in the DMV's steps. Virginia's 4.15% Sales and Use Tax (floor of $75) is the buyer's bill, due at titling, not yours. A missing title costs $15 to replace.

Water is the other thing worth knowing in a coastal city. An insurer that pays out $3,500 or more for water damage must report the claim to the DMV, and the DMV then prints an indicator on the title so the next owner knows. See flood damage.

Remove the plates before the car is hauled away from your Virginia Beach home. They can transfer to another vehicle, or go back to the DMV; half a year or more of unexpired registration may be refundable through form FMS-210. File the notice of sale, and only after that call your insurance agent. A policy that ends while DMV records still list you as owner can lead to a suspended license and registration.

Getting an offer

In Virginia Beach, ask for a price at (877) 421-6008 or on our form. Tell us about your Virginia Beach car on the form or by phone. A condo lot, a carport near the oceanfront, or the garage where it quit are all fine places for pickup. Virginia Beach is 15.5 miles from Norfolk and 16.6 miles from Chesapeake; statewide rules are on the Virginia page.