Options for moving an unregistered, dead car

July 15, 2024 3:22 PM

I'm moving to a new state, and I have a car parked at my current place that I'll need to move by the end of August. It's not registered, I don't have the title, the battery is dead, and the tires are flat. What are my options?

I've really screwed up and put off dealing with this, and now I don't have a lot of time.

Basically, I moved with this car to my current state a few years ago, and never registered (or drove) the car, since the title was lost and I had no need to drive it. Now, I'm moving to a new state (just over the border, a 20-minute drive away from my current residence).

In order to legally drive the car, I know I need to (at minimum): request a new copy of the title from the state in which it was issued; get the car up and running (i.e. jumpstarted and tire-pumped); pass a smog check; register it. But all of these things may not be feasible in the ~6 weeks I have before my current parking space becomes unavailable and I need to get the car off the premises. (The title procurement alone might take weeks.)

Given that, I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for other options as a plan B. I was thinking about maybe getting the car towed to my new house, and finishing the process there, but I'm not sure if there are any constraints I might need to be aware of that would make that process infeasible.

posted by ravioli ravioli give me the formuoli to Travel & Transportation (22 answers total)

Can you find a sort-of-shady junk car place to take it off your hands? I had a similar car and the place I called...did not ask me for any documentation. They paid me $100.

Otherwise I think towing it to your new house is probably the move, though it may be kind of expensive.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 3:52 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

if you have AAA just have them tow it to your new house. Just put air in the tires first. Technically against their rules but I've used them to tow dead vehicles home I've purchased to fix more than a few times.
posted by miles at 4:02 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

I thought this was a fascinating question, so I did some googling:

"Transporting an Unregistered Car: Auto transportation companies do not require your vehicle to be registered, licensed or insured prior to shipping. As such, this is the best option when needing to move your vehicle across country."

"The average cost to ship a car using auto transport companies in the US is $2.92 per mile to ship a vehicle less than 200 miles."

"Inoperable vehicles will require special equipment for loading purposes. It’s important that your inoperable vehicle can still roll, steer and brake in order for it to be loaded with a winch. These vehicles will cost more to ship."
posted by SageTrail at 4:05 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

With the tyres pumped up it can be loaded onto a trailer or "towed" on a tilt-bed towtruck.
posted by onya at 4:27 PM on July 15

Tires are the easiest one: if there's not actually a huge leak, each tire will take less than 5 minutes with a bike pump.

I'm not saying you should, just that it would be funny to get 3 other friends with bike pumps to do all of the tires at the same time.

After that, you can either jump it and put on "clean" plates for the 20 minute drive, or have it towed. Either way, you should be good.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 4:28 PM on July 15 [3 favorites]

1-877-Karsforkids…

Just seems like too much hassle and expense.

Donate it, get some benefits, and move on.
posted by Windopaene at 5:42 PM on July 15 [7 favorites]

What is your longer-term plan for the car? Having it towed to your new place (assuming you can park it off the street there) would probably be the simplest option, HOWEVER, a car that has been sitting for that long might have other issues that aren't apparent and may affect whether it's worth putting more effort into.

I had a car that sat for about two years mostly undriven and while I was able to fix it to make it driveable, sitting unused for so long allowed some seals/gaskets in the engine dry up and it needed a quart of oil every 200 miles for the rest of its life and I never really fully trusted it. (There was no visible leak, it was something internal, and multiple mechanics told me that taking things apart enough to find and replace what had dried up would be more than the car was really worth.) At any rate even if you can get the battery replaced and the tires full of air, I'd be careful about just trying to drive it. Maybe have it towed to a mechanic if you're in the kind of less-dense area where mechanics have bigger lots where a car can sit for a bit.

ALSO: I learned the hard way that car titles will not get forwarded even if your mail is getting forwarded - some more official/government mail gets returned to the sender rather than forwarded, and car titles (at least those mailed by the state of CA) are in that category. So keep that in mind if you are trying to have a replacement title sent to your current address and will be moving soon.
posted by needs more cowbell at 5:45 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

I would get it drivable (tires, battery) and have it moved, unregistered. It's going to be enough hassle to deal with registering an untitled car in your current state that the chances of getting it done are low; it's possible but if even one thing goes wrong it won't work.
posted by true at 6:03 PM on July 15

As far as I know, titling cars and registering cars are separate processes. If you're not going to drive this car again, you can title it and get rid of it.

So figure out how to get the title first. That's the important part.

If you want to drive it again and register it, that is different. But one step at a time!

I have found that the DMV (or whatever your equivalent is) is super helpful if you contact them. I know you think they'll judge you but they won't. If you send a message to whatever state you're currently in about your circumstances, they'll probably give you some pointers about what to do.

(Hi, I also have a dead car I will need to get rid of. This is a problem that a lot of people need to solve. You got this.)
posted by edencosmic at 6:09 PM on July 15 [2 favorites]

When a car sits that long, check the gas before trying to start it. Gas can go bad. Turns to smelling like varnish but definitely not smelling like gas. Running bad gas through the engine, even for a brief time, could brick the engine.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:23 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

Title first, then before you put a penny into it check out your towing options.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:24 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

You could always abandon the car. It will be towed. You shouldn't be on the hook unless you want it back.
posted by Stuka at 8:25 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

Your state might offer a short term ‘trip permit’ for exactly this purpose.
posted by janell at 8:46 PM on July 15 [2 favorites]

I would just drive it- I owned a car in similar condition and drove it from Oregon to Texas. Does it have plates?

If you have any sort of documentation whatsoever that ties the car to you (expired registration, insurance form, etc.) I would have that handy.

Speaking of insurance- get some! Cops will usually give you a pass on registration issues but being uninsured is a big problem. Insurance companies don't car if the car is legally registered.

Even if they give you a ticket it's likely to be less than towing- and the odds are you won't get stopped at all!

Towing it is a good option, though.
posted by Admiral Viceroy at 3:40 AM on July 16 [1 favorite]

What are the chances that you get this car towed to your new place and you actually start driving it? They seem low. Id get the title then donate the car. Anything else will probably cost more than worthwhile unless you are certain you will use the car in your new residence.
posted by emd3737 at 4:00 AM on July 16

When we had a 17 year old car with a dead battery we called several junkyards and asked what they would give us for it. They only asked to make sure the catalytic converter was still in it. Got $600 cash I believe, other places offered $300 so get a few quotes. We did have the title to sign over but I’m not sure if that would have mattered. They towed it away. Then all we had to do was mail the plates back to the state.
posted by cali59 at 5:27 AM on July 16 [1 favorite]

1-877-Karsforkids…

While it is a legal charity, Kars4kids raises its money to send kids to religious camps. If this doesn't float your boat there are alternate charities that run on car donations.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 7:04 AM on July 16 [3 favorites]

I had a similar problem; my in-laws’ car was parked in my driveway and wouldn’t start; they bought something else and left it there, presumably for one of the kids to fix up. We got tired of it being there (and it’s a violation of local codes to have an inoperable vehicle in your drive for more than a few months). Also, they lost the title. We found a tow-away charity that was willing to take it away without a title if we had anything that tied the car’s serial number to its owner along with a letter from the owner authorizing the donation.

It sounds like you’re not using the car; is it financially feasible to donate it? Getting it towed and/or getting it road-worthy and street-legal may not work out financially.
posted by coldhotel at 7:39 AM on July 16

I believe that the mechanism that's often used for re-titling is a apparently "a mechanic's lien", apparently a mechanic can say "hey, I worked on this car, wasn't paid for it, so now I have a legal mechanism to claim the car in payment.

And I believe that this is the mechanism by which the various car donation services use to manage title transfer when the title is hard to deal with. So if you don't want to donate it, talk to a mechanic about that process.
posted by straw at 7:48 AM on July 16

1-877-Karsforkids & its ilk require titles. However once you get that squared away these companies make it ridiculously easy to get your car out of your possession.
posted by mmascolino at 7:49 AM on July 16

Didn't know that Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon, I just know I hear their ads every day on the radio, (and am bugged that there are too many numbers in there). There are certainly other places that take donated cars. So use those others instead.
posted by Windopaene at 7:49 AM on July 16

Response by poster: Thanks so much for the responses, everyone! These are very helpful. FWIW I have a need for the car in the new residence (where we'll be farther from public transit options), so I'd prefer not to get rid of it. But you've all given me confidence that the towing situation should work out.
posted by ravioli ravioli give me the formuoli at 4:14 PM on July 16