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Town guide · Washington

Selling a junk or dead car in Lakewood

Lakewood's nuisance-vehicle rule has a clause about plants. Section 8.26.030 reaches a car "covered or partially covered by moss, leaves, needles or other vegetation," or one with "grass or other vegetation growing up around the vehicle," when the scene suggests it has sat still for a month or longer. So a Lakewood car that runs fine can still end up on the list. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and you sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

Updated · 7 sources

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Lakewood, the short version

Population
62,755 (Census estimate, July 2025)
County
Pierce
Junk-car rule
Lakewood Municipal Code 8.26.030
Unmoved-car test
Signs it has not moved for 30 days or more
Hearing notice
Certified mail, return receipt requested
Title office we checked
Tacoma, about 5 miles northeast
Report of sale
Within 5 days
Plates
Seller removes them

Needles on the hood: what 8.26.030 covers

Lakewood's list has two items a stalled car tends to hit:

  • "One or more junk, wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, or apparently inoperable vehicles"
  • a vehicle where "other circumstances exist that support a reasonable belief that the vehicle has not been moved for 30 days or more"

The second item measures time. Damage does not enter into it. Once an officer flags such vehicles, Lakewood says they, "found on private or public property, are declared to constitute a public nuisance subject to removal, impoundment and disposal."

How Lakewood moves from letter to tow

Instead of a fine, or on top of one, the city can issue a notice to abate under its general public-nuisance chapter. Asking for a hearing triggers a mailed notice of the date, time and place, sent "by certified mail with return receipt requested" to whoever the assessment roll lists for the land and "to the last registered and legal owner" of the car.

Once notice is out, and any hearing is over, the code says the car "shall be removed at the request of a law enforcement officer with notice to the Washington State Patrol and to the Department of Licensing that the vehicle has been wrecked." The chapter also spells out responsible parties, exemptions and removal by the city. Read those sections on the city's code site if a Lakewood notice is already taped to your door. Our page on a notice to remove a car walks through the choices.

Washington's own junk test

State law runs alongside Lakewood's. RCW 46.55.010 defines a junk vehicle by a checklist, and three boxes must be ticked out of four: "three years old or older," extensively damaged, "apparently inoperable," or worth only what the scrap brings. Landowners lean on that test when a stranger leaves a car on their lot.

Paperwork for a Pierce County car

Lakewood owners title through Pierce County, in a system the Department of Licensing runs. A quick title office on that list sits at 2401 S. 35th St., Suite 200, Tacoma, roughly 5 miles northeast of downtown Lakewood on a map. That is one office we checked, not a claim that it beats every other in Pierce County.

When the car goes:

  • Your signature goes on the release part of the title. Washington sends the buyer, not the seller, to a notary.
  • Unless the title itself already records the price and sale date, write a bill of sale and both sign it. Keep your copy.
  • Unscrew the plates. Washington makes them the seller's, and a buyer may not use them.
  • Tell DOL about the sale with a Vehicle Report of Sale inside five days. Handing a Lakewood car to a wrecking yard needs one too.

Lost the title? Washington wants one in hand before a sale, so order a replacement or ask DOL about an affidavit. See selling with no title.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or ask online. Give us the car, its rough miles, if it starts, and who the Lakewood title is in. Pickup can happen at your Lakewood curb or at a garage in Tacoma or University Place. Washington-wide rules live on the Washington page.

Questions people ask

My car still runs, but moss is growing on it. Can Lakewood call it a nuisance?
It can. Section 8.26.030 covers a vehicle under moss, leaves or needles, or with grass grown up around it, when that suggests it has sat still for 30 days or more. The test is about how long it sat, not whether the engine turns over.
What happens after Lakewood sends a notice to abate?
Lakewood can use its general nuisance process. Ask Lakewood for a hearing and the city mails the details certified, return receipt requested, to the car's owners of record and the landowner shown on the assessment roll. After notice and any hearing, the car is removed at a law enforcement officer's request, with notice to the State Patrol and DOL that it has been wrecked.
Who needs a notary when a Lakewood car changes hands?
The buyer does. The notary step falls to the Lakewood buyer, who signs the title application at a licensing office or before a notary. You sign the title release as seller. No price and date on your Lakewood title? Then a bill of sale gets signed too.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

  1. Lakewood Municipal Code 8.26.030, Junk and nuisance vehicles lakewood.municipal.codes
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, city population estimates, July 1, 2025 www2.census.gov
  3. Washington DOL: Quick title offices dol.wa.gov
  4. Washington DOL: Sell a vehicle dol.wa.gov
  5. Washington DOL: Vehicle title application instructions dol.wa.gov
  6. RCW 46.55.010, Definitions (junk vehicle) app.leg.wa.gov
  7. RCW 46.12.650, Transfer of ownership and report of sale app.leg.wa.gov