Selling a junk or dead car in Richland

The 10-day notice

When the city manager, the chief of police or a chosen official calls a car a junk vehicle, the car's owner or the landowner has to abate or remove it "within 10 days of the receipt of notice." The last registered owner and the landowner of record both get notice, and it explains they can ask the code enforcement board for a hearing. If nobody asks for one in those 10 days, Richland hauls the car off and bills the costs.

When a hearing is requested, notice of its time and place goes out by certified or registered mail. After the city gives notice that it intends to dispose of the car, it is "removed from the private property by the chief of police or a designated official and disposed of to a licensed auto wrecker or tow truck operator."

Richland can also file a lien. Within 30 days after removal, the city may record a claim of lien for the costs with the Benton County auditor.

Farm parcels get more room

In the agricultural zone, more than one inoperable vehicle may sit outside a building if the property has at least one acre for each of them, and "in no case shall there be more than five inoperable vehicles outside of buildings on any size of property."

Richland's rule versus the state's

Washington's junk test asks for three of four things: three or more years of age, extensive damage, an apparent inability to run, and scrap-level value (RCW 46.55.010). A car can count as inoperable under Richland's 14-day rule long before it meets that state test. If a notice is already on the door, see notice to remove a car; for one parked untouched for years, see sitting for years.

Title office

One Benton County quick title office on DOL's list is in Kennewick: 7122 W Okanogan Pl., Suite E120, (509) 736-2727. We checked one Benton County office, about 6 miles southeast of central Richland by straight-line distance. Others may exist.

Washington seller rules

• Your signature goes in the title's release-of-interest box; the notary step belongs to the buyer's application.
• Write up a bill of sale too, unless price and date appear on the title.
• Unbolt the plates before the car leaves; they can go on a like vehicle or back to the state.
• Tell DOL about the sale inside 5 days. This applies to a car going to a wrecking yard too.
• No title? A new one costs $39.50 and arrives in 4 to 8 weeks.

Nearby towns

Kennewick and Pasco are each 8.4 miles from Richland in a straight line, and Walla Walla is 48.2 miles. Statewide rules are on the Washington page.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the form for a Richland offer. We collect it anywhere in Richland, from a driveway on day 13 to an acre lot outside town.