Selling a dead car in Laramie

What Laramie calls a junked vehicle

The definition is wide. A junked vehicle is any motor vehicle or tow-behind trailer that is "wrecked, junked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative, abandoned, unregistered or discarded," or that cannot do the job it was built for. "Motor vehicle" here includes motor homes, motorcycles, tractors, snowmobiles and dune buggies, "regardless of whether it contains an engine."

Laramie treats a vehicle as sheltered when the street and the neighbors can't see it because of a closed garage, a cover or a full fence. An occasionally open door or gate doesn't change that. Licensed sales, towing, storage and repair businesses are exempt.

Street rules that catch a car that will not move

• 24 hours. Section 10.36.100 bars parking more than twenty-four hours on a street in front of someone else's property without their consent.
• Snow emergencies. The City Manager can declare one for snow, sleet, hail or freezing rain. Section 10.36.220 lets the city tow any vehicle sitting on a posted snow emergency route while the emergency lasts. The owner covers the tow and storage. Press releases to local media count as notice.
• Unpaid tickets. Section 10.36.360 allows a tow for a vehicle with five or more unpaid parking tickets, or one immobilized and not released within five business days. Towing and storage charges are added to any fines.

The Albany County title office

Laramie is the Albany County seat, and its county clerk handles titles. We found the office at 525 Grand Avenue, Suite 202, phone (307) 721-2541. It is under a mile east of Laramie's center as the crow flies. The Albany County treasurer issues plates and registration. Statewide, WYDOT runs Motor Vehicle Services.

Title and plates in Wyoming

The seller signs and dates the title assignment before a notary and lists any liens. Two owners joined by or/and both sign, both notarized. Wyoming wants an odometer statement for any vehicle manufactured in the last ten years. Plates belong to you, not the car, so remove them; they and any remaining credit can transfer to your next vehicle (after you sell). A car the insurance company wrote off as a total loss is a salvage vehicle under Wyoming law.

Nearby

Straight-line distances from here: Cheyenne 43.8 miles, Casper 111.9, Rock Springs 188.2, Gillette 204.7 and Sheridan 250.3. The Wyoming page covers the rest of the state.

Getting an offer

Send the details online or call (877) 421-6008: the vehicle, its miles, how it runs or doesn't, and the state of the title. If it is the second car under a cover, or the first one under a cover that has seen better days, our truck picks it up from the lot it is on.