Sell your car to Sell My Car Riverside County

What to put in the request, and why each answer helps

The form is short on purpose. Only five boxes must be filled: your name, a phone number, and the car's year, make and model. The other answers are optional, but each one saves a question on the phone:

• Year, make and model. These three tell the person who calls which car you mean before anything else is said. If you are unsure of the exact model year, it is printed on the title and on the registration card.
• Does it run? Pick the closest answer: runs and drives, starts but has problems, does not start, or not sure. A car that sat through a desert summer and will not turn over is still a car worth describing; just say so here.
• The title. Say what the California title shows today: your name with no loan, a lender still listed, a title that is lost or damaged, someone else's name, or no title at all. This answer shapes the whole conversation, so choose the one that matches the paper in your drawer, not the one you hope for. If the title has a problem, the title problems guide lays out the DMV's fix for each case.
• The ZIP code where the car sits. Riverside County runs from Corona and Norco to Indio and Blythe, so the ZIP tells the caller where the car is parked, which may not be where you live.
• Anything else. The notes box is for what the menus cannot hold: body damage, a car held at a tow yard, a failed smog test, a deadline you are working against, or a number someone else has already named.

There are boxes for an email address and rough mileage as well; leave them blank if you like. The name and phone number are what let a person reach you.

What happens once the form is sent

Your answers go to the business, and a person reads them and calls the number you entered. This page does not print a time for that call, because any time written here would be a guess. Keep your phone nearby so the call does not go to voicemail.

Would you rather talk first? Calling (951) 404-1640 rings a person, and the same details help on the phone as in the form. Have the title in front of you when you dial, so you can read out exactly what it shows.

The California paperwork stays the same whoever buys

Whoever ends up with your car, California leaves these steps with you as the seller. Three pieces matter most, and each has its own guide on this site:

• The title. The registered owner releases interest on line 1 of the California title, and when two owners are joined by AND or a slash, the DMV's manual wants both signatures. The paperwork guide walks through every line and form.
• The smog certificate. Unless the car is exempt, the seller supplies a passing Smog Check, and BAR says of that certificate: "The certificate is electronically sent to DMV and is valid for 90 days." The smog check guide lists the exemptions and what to do when a car fails.
• The release of liability. The DMV puts the deadline plainly: "You are required by law to notify DMV within 5 calendar days" of the sale. The release of liability guide covers filing it online or on REG 138 and the proof worth keeping.

Source: DMV manual: basic transfer requirements; BAR: Smog Check, when you need one; DMV: Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability.

Prefer the phone to the form?

Some sellers would sooner describe a car out loud than in boxes. If that is you, call (951) 404-1640, tell the person who answers the year, make and model, whether it runs and what the title shows, and the conversation starts from there.