Selling a Junk Car in Jersey City, NJ: Free Tow, Cash at Pickup, No Lot to Visit

Jersey City packs roughly 292,000 people onto 14.75 square miles of land, which is why the hard part of junking a car here is rarely the price. It is getting a flatbed to a car that sits on a permit-only block in Hamilton Park, in a shared driveway off Kennedy Boulevard, or behind a rowhouse in Greenville. 1-800-We-Junk-Cars has no lot in Hudson County and does not want you to drive anywhere. Call 1-800-935-8652, describe the vehicle and where it is parked, and we dispatch a tow that pays cash at pickup. Blown engines, Sandy-era flood damage, dead plates, a car that has not moved since the last street-cleaning cycle: all of it qualifies. The one thing to sort before the truck comes is the New Jersey title, and this page covers the duplicate process, the city ordinance on plateless cars, and what a car is actually worth here.

Call 1-800-935-8652 for a free offer on your vehicle in Jersey City. Free towing, cash on pickup.

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How to sell a junk car in Jersey City

Start with the call. Give the year, make, model, whether it starts, rolls and steers, and whether the catalytic converter is still on it. Then give the location the way a tow driver needs it: the exact block, whether the car is at the curb or in a driveway, and what is parked in front of and behind it. Downtown between the Hudson River and the Turnpike Extension, a flatbed usually has to work from the street on blocks where parking is tight, so a morning window before spaces fill helps. The Heights sits on top of the Palisades, and the streets that climb from Hoboken and from Tonnelle Avenue are steep enough that a car with no brakes needs a winch, not a push. Journal Square, McGinley Square and Bergen-Lafayette are rowhouse and two-family blocks with narrow shared driveways; if a second car is boxing yours in, move it first. Greenville and the West Side have more driveways and alleys, and Country Village is the easiest load in the city. On arrival the driver checks the VIN against the title, you sign it over, and you get cash before the car leaves the block.

What is a junk car worth in Jersey City?

Most junk cars in Jersey City bring $150 to $700, and the number is set by three things: what the car weighs, which parts are still on it, and whether the catalytic converter is intact. A Ford F-150, a Honda Odyssey or a body-on-frame Tahoe sits at the top of that range on weight alone; a Civic missing its converter sits at the bottom. Two local factors move the offer. The first is water. Hurricane Sandy pushed the Hudson over the wall at Exchange Place in October 2012 and flooded Downtown, Country Village, the West Side and Liberty State Park, and a car that went under salt water then is worth its metal and very little else, because the wiring, seats and electronics are not resellable. The second is salt from winter road treatment, which eats rockers, brake lines and subframes on any car that has spent a decade parked on the street. What works in your favor is distance. Jersey City is a port city with an industrial belt along Route 1/9 Truck, Route 440 and Greenville Yard, so the truck is not carrying a long haul before the car reaches a buyer, and no haul deduction comes out of the offer.

Title and paperwork rules in New Jersey

New Jersey titles are handled by the state Motor Vehicle Commission, not the county, so nothing goes through Hudson County offices. The Jersey City Vehicle Center at 438 Summit Avenue takes title work by appointment made at telegov.njportal.com/njmvc. Start with the lien question, because it is the step that stalls Jersey City sales. If a loan was ever recorded on the car, MVC’s record still shows the lien even after payoff, and a duplicate title issued with a lien on record is mailed to the lienholder, not to you. Clearing it requires an original, signed lien release on the lienholder’s letterhead, or a paid loan statement with the matching VIN, submitted with the Universal Title Application, form OS/SS-UTA. The title fee is $60. If the title is simply lost or stolen, check Duplicate Title on the same form, sign it as owner, and attach a government-issued photo ID plus proof of ownership such as a registration, insurance card, bill of sale or MVC certified record. No notary is needed for an individual owner; notarized letters are only required for business entities and powers of attorney. By mail it goes to MVC Special Services, PO Box 150, Trenton, NJ 08666-0017, and mailed applications can take up to 10 weeks, so file before you schedule the tow.

Jersey City abandoned and inoperable vehicle rules

The Code of Jersey City treats this in Chapter 332, Vehicles and Traffic, Article X, Impounding and Booting Vehicles. Section 332-72 makes three things unlawful: abandoning a vehicle on a street or public property, parking a vehicle on a street or public property without license plates, and parking a vehicle on private property for 48 hours or more without the owner’s consent or for any period without license plates. That last clause is the one that catches junk cars, because it applies to a driveway, not only the curb, and the trigger is plates rather than appearance. A car on the street 48 hours or more may be presumed abandoned. Under section 332-73, the Department of Public Safety may tow and impound or boot an abandoned vehicle, and it may use a private tower to do it. Section 332-75 says an impounded car is not released until towing and storage charges under Chapter 160 are paid. Since 2015 a Division of Automobile Impounding inside Public Works has run the pound and towed on JCPD orders, per section 3-71.4. The general penalty in section 1-25 allows a fine of up to $2,000 and/or up to 90 days in jail or community service, with each day a separate offense and an added fine for a repeat within one year. Complaints go to the Resident Response Center at 201-547-4900; the Office of Code Compliance is at 280 Grove Street, 201-547-5000.

What Does 1-800-We-Junk-Cars Pay for a Junk Car in Jersey City?

Most Jersey City junk cars sell for $150 to $700, set by curb weight, whether the catalytic converter is intact, and whether Hurricane Sandy’s 2012 floodwater ever reached the wiring. Call 1-800-935-8652 with the year, make and model and we quote the car over the phone before a truck ever leaves the yard. A flatbed meets you on your block in Journal Square, Greenville or the Heights, the driver checks the VIN against your New Jersey title, you sign it over, and cash changes hands before the car clears Hudson County. Hudson County has no title office; only the Jersey City Vehicle Center handles it, by appointment.

Areas of Jersey City we tow from

We pick up in every part of Jersey City. Downtown covers Paulus Hook, Exchange Place, Newport, Hamilton Park, Van Vorst Park, Harsimus Cove and the Powerhouse Arts District. Journal Square includes Five Corners, Bergen Square, The Hilltop, India Square, Marion and McGinley Square along Kennedy Boulevard and Newark Avenue. The Heights takes in Central Avenue, Western Slope and Washington Village up on the Palisades. Bergen-Lafayette means Communipaw, Bergen Hill, The Junction and Jackson Hill, and Greenville runs south through Claremont, Country Village, Curries Woods and Port Liberte. The West Side covers Lincoln Park, West Bergen, Society Hill, Droyer’s Point, Bayfront and Croxton along the Hackensack. Trucks come in on the Turnpike Extension, Route 440, Routes 1/9, the Pulaski Skyway and Route 139, and we also cover Hoboken, Bayonne, North Bergen, Weehawken and Kearny.

• Downtown
• Paulus Hook
• Hamilton Park
• Journal Square
• McGinley Square
• The Heights
• Western Slope
• Bergen-Lafayette
• Communipaw
• Greenville
• Country Village
• West Side

Frequently asked questions

My car has expired plates and sits in my own Jersey City driveway. Is that legal?

Not under the city code. Section 332-72 of the Code of Jersey City makes it unlawful to park a vehicle on private property for any period without license plates, and the clause is not limited to streets. Whether the car looks fine is beside the point; the trigger is the missing plates. Selling it to us removes the problem in one visit, and we do not need the car to be registered or plated to buy it, only titled in your name.

What happens to a plateless car left on a Jersey City street?

Section 332-72 makes it unlawful to park on a street without plates, and a vehicle on the street 48 hours or more may be presumed abandoned. Section 332-73 lets the Department of Public Safety tow, impound or boot it, using a private tower if it chooses, and section 332-75 holds the car until Chapter 160 towing and storage charges are paid. The general penalty in section 1-25 runs to $2,000 and up to 90 days in jail or community service, each day a separate offense.

My loan is paid off but the MVC still lists a lien. Can I still sell?

Yes, once the lien is cleared. MVC’s record keeps showing a lien after payoff until you apply to remove it. File the Universal Title Application, form OS/SS-UTA, with an original signed lien release on the lienholder’s letterhead, or a paid loan statement showing the matching VIN. The title fee is $60. Send the release with the duplicate request, or clear the lien first, because a duplicate issued while the lien is on record is mailed to the lienholder instead of you.

How long does a duplicate New Jersey title take from Jersey City?

In person, book an appointment at telegov.njportal.com/njmvc for the Jersey City Vehicle Center, 438 Summit Avenue, and bring a government-issued photo ID, proof of ownership such as your registration or insurance card, and $60. By mail, send form OS/SS-UTA with a check or money order payable to NJMVC to MVC Special Services, PO Box 150, Trenton, NJ 08666-0017; the form warns mailed applications can take up to 10 weeks plus mailing time.

Can you tow from a permit-parking block Downtown or a hill in the Heights?

Yes. Downtown blocks between the waterfront and the Turnpike Extension are tight, so we schedule a window when the driver can get a flatbed alongside the car, usually earlier in the day. In the Heights, the grades up from Hoboken and Tonnelle Avenue mean a car with no brakes or a seized wheel gets winched onto the bed rather than rolled. Tell us on the call if the car cannot roll or steer so the right truck is sent.

Is a car that flooded during Hurricane Sandy worth anything?

It is worth its weight. Sandy’s surge in October 2012 came over the wall at Exchange Place and flooded Downtown, Country Village, the West Side and Liberty State Park, and salt water destroys the wiring harness, modules and interior that a parts buyer would otherwise pay for. A flooded full-size truck still lands higher in the $150 to $700 range than a flooded compact because the scrap price is by the ton. Be upfront about the water line and the quote will hold.

Does Hudson County have a title office, or is everything through the state?

Everything is the state Motor Vehicle Commission. There is no county clerk step in New Jersey titling. The Jersey City Vehicle Center at 438 Summit Avenue handles duplicate titles, lien removals and transfers by appointment, and the mail route goes to MVC Special Services in Trenton. The Universal Title Application, OS/SS-UTA, is the one form for all of it, and the $60 title fee is paid to NJMVC, by card or cash only if you go in person.

The city towed my car to the pound and I do not want it back. What now?

Sell it to us instead if it is still in your possession; if it is already impounded, section 319-19 of the city code says an owner who will not claim the vehicle must sign a certificate of ownership transferring it to the City of Jersey City. Failing to do that can bring a summons under N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.5, with a first-offense fine of $100 to $500 and $500 to $1,000 for a repeat. The city code still recites a license suspension for that offense, but the state removed it from the statute in 2019, so the exposure now is the fine.

Ready to get rid of it? Call 1-800-935-8652 and we will quote your car in Jersey City over the phone, tow it free, and pay you cash at pickup.

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