Mountlake Terrace: selling a car that has sat too long

How the city defines inoperable

Chapter 10.05 calls a vehicle inoperable if it "may not be operated or towed behind a vehicle on a public roadway due to the condition of the vehicle or the status of the ownership, registration, or license of the vehicle." That covers paperwork as well as mechanical trouble. A Terrace car that starts every time but carries lapsed registration can still be inoperable under this definition.

The city's junk definition is looser than the state's, too. Mountlake Terrace's chapter calls any vehicle junk, RVs too, when it is "having at least two of the following characteristics." RCW 46.55.010, the state rule, needs three.

Recreational and utility vehicles parked outside have their own standard. They must have none of the following: "a broken window, body damage or rust affecting more than 10 percent of the vehicle's exterior surface," or any other sign of substantial disrepair.

A draft rewrite of the zoning code, Chapter 19.25, adds that inoperable vehicles waiting for repair at industrial sites "shall be screened from adjacent streets or properties." That text is marked as a draft.

What a notice sets in motion

"Each day any person allows or fails to abate such nuisance after notice shall constitute a separate violation." The penalties step up for a repeat. A second violation of the same kind within 24 months "shall constitute a misdemeanor crime," with a fine, jail or both on the table. The city can also collect the cost of the abatement.

A Snohomish County title office

Everett's quick title office at 3000 Rockefeller Ave is the one we checked for this part of the county. As the crow flies, it is about 13 miles north of central Mountlake Terrace. Snohomish County may have other offices.

Paperwork that ends your link to the car

A car that sat for 30 days can stay tied to your name for longer than that unless you report the sale. The Vehicle Report of Sale is due to DOL in 5 days. A report sent online, even late at night, is processed once it is paid for, which makes the sale legal.

Before the car goes, remove the plates. Washington makes that the seller's task, and they are not the buyer's to use. Sign the part of the title that releases your interest. A Mountlake Terrace sale also calls for a bill of sale, unless the title already shows what was paid and when. You need no notary; here the notary handles the buyer's title application.

Nearby

Lynnwood is 2.4 miles away, Edmonds 2.7, Shoreline 3.3 and Kenmore 4.0. Statewide rules are on the Washington page.

Getting an offer

Dial (877) 421-6008 or send us the form. Say what you are driving, or were, plus the odometer number, whether the engine runs, and how the title stands. A truck can take the car from a carport, a condo space or a driveway on the street.