Selling a dead car in Issaquah

Salvage, destroyed or junk?

Washington sorts a finished car a few ways, and the label changes the paperwork.

Salvage. RCW 46.04.514 names three routes to "salvage vehicle" status: the title was surrendered to DOL after destruction or a total loss, paperwork declares the car salvage, or the damage is so heavy that "parts and labor plus salvage value make it uneconomical to repair." Washington writes no percentage into that test. When an Issaquah car's insurer has written it off, read insurer totaled it.

Destroyed. An Issaquah owner who scraps the car personally, instead of selling it, has 15 days under RCW 46.12.600 to notify DOL, sending in the title or a substitute affidavit with "DESTROYED" written on it. Keeping that title past day 15 is a gross misdemeanor.

Junk. Under RCW 46.55.010 a car counts as junk when three of four fit: it is "three years old or older," badly damaged, "apparently inoperable," or worth about scrap. It mostly comes up when someone else's car is left on your land.

Brands that follow a car

Washington prints brands on the record, and under WAC 308-56A-530 they stay there indefinitely. Brands an Issaquah title can carry include Rebuilt (after destruction or salvage), Former taxicab, Returned to manufacturer, Odometer not actual and Contaminated. There's no Washington flood brand, though an Issaquah car branded in another state keeps that brand word for word. A buyer will see every one. Our salvage title page covers selling a branded car.

The title office in Seattle

Issaquah owners get sent by the Department of Licensing to the King County quick title desk in Seattle: 201 S. Jackson St., Suite 206, phone (206) 477-4000. It is about 14 miles west of downtown Issaquah in a straight line, and the county has several other offices too.

No title, no sale

Washington requires a valid title for any sale, so an Issaquah seller missing one starts with a replacement, 4 to 8 weeks out. DOL can sometimes take an "Affidavit in Lieu of Title" instead; a licensing office will say which form fits. Buyers want clean papers quickly for their own reason: a buyer who transfers the title late owes $50 on day sixteen, then $2 more for each extra day, capped at $125.

Your last three steps

• Sign the release on the Issaquah title. Any notary step is the buyer's.
• Pull your plates before the car leaves.
• Tell DOL about the sale inside five days, and that holds if a wrecking yard hauls your Issaquah car.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or ask online. Give the model year, make, miles, if it starts, and any brand on the title. We can grab it on Sunset Way, from a Sammamish driveway, or at a Bellevue shop. The Washington page has the statewide rules.