Cash for Junk Cars in San Diego, CA: $100-$5,000

What do I need to sell my junk car in San Diego?

To sell junk cars in San Diego one must be able to prove ownership of the vehicle.  One proves ownership of a vehicle by providing the valid vehicle title in their name.  If the vehicle title is missing the vehicle registration and bill of sale is required to sell junk cars in San Diego.

An application for duplicate title or duplicate salvage certificate is required if the original has been lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed. A statement of facts must accompany the application. These can be endorsed to the junk car buyer without having to wait for the duplicate certificate of ownership to arrive in the mail.

The state of California requires that the vehicle owner or the junk car buyer apply for a nonrepairable certificate before a junk car can be recycled. Junk Car Medics uses a California DMV pre-approved computer generated application for nonrepairable certificate that can be ready for your signature for an easy and painless process.

How does San Diego define a junk vehicle?

San Diego breaks down their junk vehicle definition into several distinct types of junk vehicles. These definitions can be found in Section 78.102 of the San Diego city code. In San Diego, a public nuisance vehicle is one that is wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative and creates a condition of blight on a neighborhood, or that creates a hazard to the neighborhood children, animals, and environment.

In San Diego a wrecked vehicle is one that has been damaged to such an extent that it cannot be operated safely on highways. A dismantled vehicle in San Diego is any vehicle that has been wholly or partially disassembled. An inoperable vehicle in San Diego is one that cannot be moved under its own power, meaning it must be towed to be mobile.

Junk cars are called decrepit cars, scrap cars, old parts cars, scrap car shells, inoperative vehicles, junk vehicles, junkers, clunkers, jalopies, damaged, and mechanically unfit. Vehicles that cost more to repair than they are worth are junk cars in San Diego. Most junk cars are at least 15 years old unless they have been wrecked. Junk cars come in additional conditions such as totaled, stripped as a result of theft, burned, destroyed, crashed, and with nonworking major mechanical components.

The generally accepted junk car definition is a vehicle that is no longer safe to be on the roads and should be recycled rather than repaired.

What are the laws around junking a car in San Diego?

The laws for junking a car in San Diego are set by the State of California Vehicle Code of laws. Here are the most important laws for recycling cars in San Diego.

• Sec. 19.025 When dismantlers can process vehicles. This junk car law requires auto dismantlers and salvage yards to follow a particular process based on how the vehicle was acquired and its title status. Vehicles that already have junk status with a salvage or nonrepairable certificate can be processed and recycled immediately. Otherwise, the dismantler must submit the Dismantler’s Notice of Acquisition with any related ownership documents to the DMV before dismantling the vehicle. The dismantler must wait 10 days from the date of mailing but can recycle the junk car immediately if they take the notice to the DMV in person.
• Sec. 19.030 Junking a vehicle: In summary, this junk car law requires vehicle owners to submit an application to record a vehicle as junk. Failing to do so results in the assessment of an investigative service fee. The vehicle owner must submit the Application for Nonrepairable Certificate with a Statement of Facts completing the chain of ownership and one of these three – title endorsed for transfer, salvage certificate endorsed for transfer, or nonresident vehicle registration or title.
• Sec. 19.040 Nonrepairable certificates. This junk car law gives further detail as to what is required to get a nonrepairable certificate to junk a car in San Diego. Specifically the junk car claw allows a salvage pool to submit this paperwork on behalf of the owner of the junk car using a pre-approved computer generated application.
• Chapter 3 Vehicle dismantlers. The Entirety of Chapter 3 of the California State Vehicle Code is dedicated to the licensure and regulation of vehicle dismantlers and their facilities. Among other things, this law requires any entity engaged in buying, selling, or dealing in nonrepairable vehicles for the purpose of dismantling to be licensed by the California DMV. This includes entities that buy or sell used auto parts, dismantlers and auto recyclers. A later amendment to this law requires salvage pool operators to have similar licensure and follow most of these regulations.

Other junk car laws in San Diego allow for the city to remove junk cars and have them recycled. Junk cars that are removed that have value as salvage or scrap are disposed of by the city and the vehicle or property owner must pay the penalties for the city’s junk car removal in San Diego. The exact junk car laws in San Diego for when and how junk cars can be stored on private property and when the city will remove and dispose of junk cars in San Diego are detailed below.

What is the penalty for breaking the junk car removal law in San Diego?

It is illegal to have a public nuisance vehicle on private property. It is against the law in San Diego to have a junk vehicle in the open where it can be seen by the general public. The exact laws for how junk cars can be stored in San Diego are below.

According to the San Diego Code Enforcement website, the penalties for breaking the junk car laws in San Diego vary depending on the circumstances of the offense. If the city chooses to abate or remove the junk car in San Diego for you the penalties will be the actual cost of abatement or junk car removal in San Diego. The actual costs of abatement are further defined in an addendum ordinance as all costs incurred in the abatement and removal of a vehicle or part including but not limited to hearing costs, staff costs, legal costs, overhead, administration, appeal costs, assessment confirmation hearing costs, towing and removal costs, and costs of storage and sale.

If vehicle abatement is not an option for whatever reason the city can assess civil penalties for each day that the violation remains, up to a maximum of $10,000 per incident. In any case, potential criminal charges or additional civil citations and penalties could be assessed by the San Diego attorney’s office.

Can I get cash for junk cars with no title in San Diego?

Yes, you can get cash for junk cars with no title in San Diego if the title is in your name and has been lost, mutilated, stolen, or destroyed. The appropriate paperwork for duplicate certificate and statements of fact detailing the chain of ownership must be submitted with the vehicle registration proving current ownership. You cannot junk a car without a title unless you have already titled the vehicle in your name.

Vehicle Titles	Percent	Value
Junked Car With Title in San Diego	79%	$840.49
Junked Car With Rebuilt Title in San Diego	9.84%	$635.00
Junked Car With No Title in San Diego	10.88%	$430.95

Learn more about selling a car with no title.

How to get a replacement title in San Diego?

To get a replacement title in San Diego the vehicle owner must submit an application for duplicate title to the California DMV. The application can be submitted in person or mailed, but the duplicate certificate of title is mailed regardless. An application for duplicate title, a statement of facts detailing the chain of ownership, and the registration can be submitted to a junk car buyer instead of waiting for the duplicate title to be mailed.

Is it a requirement to notify the DMV when you junk a car in San Diego?

It is a requirement to notify the DMV when you junk a car in San Diego, but this responsibility does not necessarily fall on the vehicle owner. The salvage pool operator or junk car buyer submits the required application for nonrepairable certificate on the vehicle owner’s behalf. This makes it even easier to junk a car in San Diego.

Can I store junk cars on my property in San Diego?

Yes, you can store junk cars on your property in San Diego. According to Section 142.1110 of the San Diego city code, outdoor storage of junk cars is allowed if the junk cars are completely screened from public view by solid fences, walls, buildings, or landscape features taller than the motor vehicle. If not a garage or approved outdoor building in a side yard the screened area for storing junk cars must be located in the rear yard.

The San Diego junk car storage law states that a private property owner cannot have more than one fully screened area for motor vehicles of no more than 400 square feet. By reference, the average 1 car garage is 240 square feet. You can easily fit 2 junk vehicles within one such enclosure.

San Diego does not limit how many junk cars allowed on private property, but the state of California does. According to Section 22651 of the California State Vehicle Code a private property owner can only have 2 vehicles with expired registrations of 6 months or more. With these laws, if you have a garage or other enclosed building as well as a screened area in a rear yard you could potentially store up to 3 or 4 vehicles at one time depending on when their registrations expire.

Can I sell my car for parts in San Diego?

Yes, you may be able to sell your car for parts in San Diego. It is illegal to sell used auto parts without a license in California, but a limited number of individual sales are usually allowed as long as it is not a principle form of income. San Diego allows the storage of junk cars without time limit which in turn allows junk car owners to hold onto a vehicle long enough to sell your car for parts in San Diego.

To sell a car for parts in San Diego you must first determine if you have buyers for the parts. There is no sense in going through the trouble of pulling and prepping parts for sale if you don’t have anyone to sell them to. The second step to sell a car for parts in San Diego is to pull and clean the parts. Once you sell the parts to the buyers and all that remains is scrap, you must arrange for recycling of the scrap car shell in San Diego.

While you can get more cash for the parts on a junk car than selling the car as a whole to a junk car buyer, to sell a car for parts is time consuming and takes a lot of effort and know-how. To get rid of an unwanted car fast or to be rewarded with cash now instead of over time use a junk car buyer like Junk Car Medics. Read about whether to sell a car for parts or not.

Is it possible to junk a car with a lien in San Diego?

No, it is not possible to junk a car with a lien in San Diego. A vehicle with a lien does not fully belong to its owner. The financial institution that loaned the money to buy the vehicle has an ownership interest in the vehicle until the loan is paid off. A lien release endorsed by the financial institution must be submitted to the DMV to receive a clear title that can be used to sell a junk car in San Diego. The lien release must be processed and a new certificate of title issued  to sell a junk car with a lien in San Diego. Completing the paperwork or attaching the lien release to the title are not sufficient for a junk car buyer to accept the vehicle because the DMV must verify the lien release.

We Pay Cash for Junk Cars in San Diego County and Near You

In addition to San Diego, Junk Car Medics pays cash for junk cars in Chula Vista and all of San Diego County.