Selling a junk or dead car in Kenmore

Four conditions, three needed

A Kenmore car that hits three of these is a "junk vehicle" in the eyes of the state:

• an age of three years or more
• heavy damage: a broken window or windshield, or wheels, tires, the motor or the transmission gone
• it looks like it cannot run
• its only value is scrap

Picture a ten-year-old sedan with a dead starter and a spiderwebbed windshield. That is three boxes ticked.

Next, someone with authority looks the car over: an officer, a health department inspector or another person allowed to do it. The property owner then writes to whoever is on record as the car's owner and lender. When no one answers that letter within 15 days, the landowner can dispose of the car. Dumping one on purpose is a gross misdemeanor, and the person on the registration is billed double what the removal cost.

Lapsed tabs and curbside parking

Washington treats driving on lapsed tabs as an infraction. For a Kenmore car that no longer moves, the curb is the bigger worry: once its tabs have been lapsed for over 45 days, a car left on a public street can be towed to impound. A tow company that keeps a car 120 straight hours has, in legal terms, an "abandoned vehicle" on its lot. Owners get a custody-and-sale notice in the mail, and cars nobody claims are auctioned 15 days later. Already towed? Start with towed or impounded.

One title office we checked, in Seattle

One office on our list is Suite 206 at 201 South Jackson Street in Seattle, (206) 477-4000. It is roughly 11 miles to the south, as the crow flies. County auditor offices and subagent licensing offices handle titles too, so this is one choice among several. DOL's advice is for both people to meet at a licensing office and trade payment for the signed title.

What you sign: the title's release-of-interest block. You also share a bill of sale with the buyer if the title itself carries no price and date. For a Kenmore sale, it's the buyer who needs a notary, signing the title application before one or at a licensing counter.

Title missing? The state wants a valid one before any sale. A new copy is $39.50, mailed 4 to 8 weeks later, and DOL may take one of two affidavits in its place. Details are in selling with no title.

Two jobs after the handshake

The plates are yours to remove. That is state law, and the buyer can't claim them. You can move them to a later vehicle of the same type or return them to the state. DOL's reasoning is simple: parking and speed camera tickets, toll charges and tow bills follow whatever plate is on the car.

Then report the sale to DOL. Its page says 5 days; the statute says 5 business days. The rule holds even for a car bound for a wrecking yard, and after you sell covers the filing.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. Our offer form handles the car questions. We pick up from a Kenmore carport, an apartment lot or a garage in Kirkland. Statewide rules are on the Washington page.