Scrapping old Mavericks/Comets

I am thinking about getting a Maverick for some parts, and it is not worth much - it's been sitting for years in the weeds. Anyway, I was wondering what exactly I do with it. Lets say I buy it, or get it for free from the owner. I would assume they want to transfer the vehicle over to me, so they are not liable for it. Makes sense. Now is where it gets confusing. If I have the title, and pink slip, DMV, in a sense, thinks it is a driving car. Do I simply get a nonrepariable vehicle slip, turn in the plates and walk away? I want to strip it, but not have to pay a bunch of money to DMV. What is a legal way to do this? I only want the car for the parts, so I don't even necessarily need to transfer it to my name (if it still has the title), but I suppose I would have to. Right? Let me know how your guys do it, and if (and how much) there are any fees involved. Any input would be great. Thanks!
-Corbin

 

Corbin-

Does California still require you to pay all back registration on a vehicle to put it in your name?
Meaning if this rig has been off the road 10 years, you have to pay 10 years of registration to put it in your name?
I always thought that was stupid.

 

I don't know what the laws are in California but where I live, All you need is to have the owner sign the Title over to you and a Bill of Sale.

If you're just going to strip the car for parts, then simply don't take the Title to the DMV (don't bother to have it titled or registered in your name). You can easily prove that you legally own the car with the Title and Bill of Sale, if it were ever to be an issue (which in most cases it won't).

After you have gotten all the parts you want off the car, you can haul it to a scrap yard and show them the Title and they'll take it off your hands, eventually crushing it for scrap metal...

Only if you Register a car to be driven on the public roads should you need to pay any taxes on it, and since you're not doing that, it should not be an issue.

Hopfully you have a garage or a space on your property where you can park the car, since you cannot park an unregistered vehicle on the public streets...

 

here in ND

I bought a mav. last summer for parts, NO TITLE I towed it home, it sat in my yard till this fall. I never reg. or licensed it or nothing,I got what I wanted off it , a bunch of friends and myself had a "sledge hammer party" and I hauled it to the salvage yard, at the yard he asked if I had a title , I said no, had to sign a paper saying I was the owner . It worked out great, I bought the car for $50 got the doors,rear bumper,tail lights,windshield chrome, made about $20 at the sledgehammer party, and got $38 as scrap.

 

I did what T.L. recommened last summer, didn't have to worry about having the title transferred into my name.

 

Check with DMV

I think that would be the best route.
In Ca. it would not surprise me if the
junkyard required a title to junk a
car. It's dumb, but so are a lot of the
laws on the left coast.


I bought a parts car with a hand written
bill of sale that stated that I had no intention
of registering the vehicle and that it would be
junked.

I didn't pay any transfer tax or registration
fees.


Seth

 

In California there is a "Release of liability" form, send it in to the DMV and the previous owner is free and clear. It is attached to your pink slip or you can get one from the DMV.

 

Strip what you need then call pick-a-part or some other wrecking yard and have them pick the rest of the car up. When they come and get the car you give them the signed title from the previous owner. Depending how much is left of the car you may have to pay them to take it. We had to pay $50.00 to have a 62 oldsmobile F-85 because it didn't have an engine.

Our donor car from the crash, I tranfered to my name and put it on a non-op. After I was done my buddy's wecking yard picked it up and crushed it. I took the title down to DMV and turned it in with the plates. They had me sign some paper saying this car would never ever be back on the road again. They sent me a another kind of title that I can't remember the name of it.

One thing about California DMV is they do not play anymore, if your regestration get to far overdue and you didn't put it under non-op then they send you to collections.

Here if the DMV web site http://www.dmv.ca.gov/

 

HEY CORBIN!! YOU BETTER READ THIS!!

I had a conversation with a northern Cali guy a while back who I bought parts from which may be pertinent to you. He bought a Mav through an estate sale to restore. He ended picking it up for a very cheap price, but he had a nasty surprise waiting. There were past registration fees outstanding on it from the deceased owner and he couldn't get the title until he paid ALL the past due fees. It came to several hundred dollars. No longer was the Mav a bargain. Cali has retarded rules on registration where they make a new owner responsible for past fees not paid regardless on what or how much. You need to check that out before you commit to buying it, Corbin. A bargain may end up being a financial nightmare out where you be, my friend. Thank God Pennsylvania does not do anything remotely like this!!

 

Here in Colorado, past registration fees are only like $2.00 per year...so even if the thing sat for 20 years, that's only $40.00.

Also, no one even knows that I have my parts-car (Camaro, not a Mav) so there's really no way that I could be sent to collections for anything if I lived in California. Of course, here, we are not required to turn-in the old license plates either. I have an F-body that I bought in 2000. I Titled it but still have not registered it because It isn't running right now (I have the engine & tranny out of it) and it just sits in the garage. When I go to register it, they will give me a new set of plates. Don't have to deal with any old ones...

 

I bought a 69.5 Mav and a Lincoln Versailles for parts last summer. They didn't roll so I couldn't tow them home (I don't have a trailer). So I gave the seller the money, called my friend that runs an auto wreckers and had him pick them up and take them to the junkyard. I pulled what I wanted and He kept the rest. We were both happy. That way I don't have to have them in my yard.

I've bought a few other cars for parts too and I just pass the title from the seller to the junkyard.

 

I just registered my new project, 71 maverick. I payed $289 which was two transfer fees and taxes on $250 the rest was back registation from 98, the last time it was registered.

To keep the new owner from having to pay back registration from the last dill hole. California now sends late registers to collections, it happen to a guy here at work on a truck that was totalled. He had to come up with the accedent report and prof that it was totalled so it wouldn't go on his credit report.

The best thing to do is non-op it, it's only $40

 

Boy, you guys sure pay for all that sunshine.

 

Here, the title transfer fees end up being around $50 including notary fees. Car registrations are $36/year. The fact that Pa allowed titling and registrations to be privatized a long time ago benefitted everyone. There are a slew of places to go to have it done everywhere. This keeps the costs down and waiting times minimal if not non-existant. At the AAA offices, members can get metal plates and finished registration cards as well as stickers for plates immediately, license changes and replacements, and most everything else auto/license related. Some messenger services offer this as well. Others can offer metal plates with temp permits which work the same. They're immediately valid but you just wait a while for the stickers and cards to come in the mail. I waited for over an hour in a NJ DMV office to transfer the title for a bike I bought there once. I feel bad for you guys who have centralized DMV offices as well as state inspections. Our inspections are privatized also. At least this state did that right, not much else, but this was.

 

Oh yeah...and you are never held responsible if the past owner never kept up his plates or registration or inspection.