Selling a junk or dead car in Shoreline

The private-property rule

Shoreline took the International Property Maintenance Code and amended it. Beyond dead cars, the vehicle section bars any vehicle from being "in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, damaged to the extent it prevents normal operation, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled."

Tabs matter as well: "Every motor vehicle, recreational vehicle or boat parked, kept or stored on any premises shall display current and valid registration tabs." So a car in good shape with old tabs still breaks it.

One exception: overhauls, body work included, are fine "inside a structure or similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes." A project in a real garage passes; one on jack stands beside the house doesn't. Stripped already? See missing parts.

Curbside: 45 days of expired tabs

SMC 10.05.010 adopts the state's impound rules by reference, including impound of "a vehicle with an expired registration of more than forty-five days" parked on a public street. Pushing it onto the street just trades the driveway rule for this rule.

Not a garbage pickup item

Shoreline's solid waste code excludes bulky items "such as motor vehicles or hulks; car parts and tires" from collection, and its definition of junk includes "all abandoned and disabled vehicles." A whole car, or a pile of its pieces, needs another exit. Junk car removal lays out the choices.

Title counter, report, plates

One King County licensing counter we found for Shoreline sellers is in Seattle: 201 South Jackson Street, Suite 206. You can reach it at (206) 477-4000. On a straight map line, downtown Shoreline is about 11 miles north of it.

In a Shoreline sale your part is signing the title and bill of sale. The notary step falls to the buyer. Get your Report of Sale filed with DOL inside 5 days. Plates come off last. DOL notes that leaving them on invites camera, parking and toll bills that land on you. They can go on another vehicle of that type later, or back to the state.

Nearby

Straight-line, Mountlake Terrace is 3.3 miles off and Edmonds 3.9, then Kenmore and Lynnwood; Kirkland is 7.8 miles. Statewide: Washington.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or fill out the form for a Shoreline offer. We collect it from a carport or a quiet side street, wherever it is.