Sell your car in Scottsdale: running or not, instead of trading it in
Get an offer online before you settle for a trade-in number, and we come to you anywhere in the city to pick the car up. If you'd rather sell it yourself, or the car no longer runs, Scottsdale's city code has its own rules on where it can sit. They're below, along with the offices you or your buyer may need.
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Three things worth saying when you ask for an offer
- 1. What kind of car it is. A daily driver gets a fast, market-based number. A low-mileage, collector or enthusiast car gets a valuation conversation first, because fewer cars compare to it. Either way you get one figure, not a range.
- 2. Whether it's leased or came from an estate. On a lease, pull your payoff quote first; contracts differ on third-party buyouts, and we'll tell you whether an offer or turning the car in comes out ahead. If the title is still in a late parent's name, say so and we can walk you through the sequence; our transfer-on-death title guide covers the paperwork.
- 3. When it leaves. Write down the date and time of the handoff. It's the moment you'll point to if a photo-enforcement notice or a street-parking notice about the car turns up later.
Where we pick up around Scottsdale
Scottsdale stretches 31 miles from north to south, between the Tonto National Forest and the Salt River, and our pickup map covers all of it, Old Town included. It keeps going past the city line to Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills, Cave Creek, Carefree and Rio Verde, and to Tempe and Mesa next door. The offer doesn't change with the ZIP code.
Gated communities are on the pickup map. Put the gate or guard-house instructions in your request, or just tell the gate we're coming.
Where a Scottsdale car can sit with a for-sale sign
Not at the curb. Scottsdale's city code says no one may park a vehicle on any roadway “for the principal purpose of displaying such vehicle for sale” (Sec. 17-111). On an unpaved lot, the code allows one car at a time to be shown for sale, and it has to belong to the owner or a resident of that property. A sign or marking saying the car is for sale counts as evidence that it was parked for sale (Sec. 17-111.1).
So if you sell it yourself, show it from your own driveway, not the curb or a dirt lot you don't live on. If you're weighing that against the car trade-in value a Scottsdale dealer quotes, our guide to trading in versus selling privately compares the two.
Cash for your car in Scottsdale
Scottsdale's code enforcement rules spell out what counts as junk cars. A car qualifies if it is inoperable, dismantled, wrecked or on blocks. So does one without a current license plate, or with a deflated tire. A junk car, or one being repaired or restored, has to be kept in a fully enclosed spot where it can't be seen, and the city says car covers are not acceptable. The street is no fallback. A car parked there more than 72 hours in a row counts as stored, which city code bans. An officer leaves a notice first, and a car still there six days after the notice can be removed and impounded (Sec. 17-129).
If that describes the car in your side yard, ask for an offer on it as it sits. Old, damaged and non-running cars get offers too, and we come to you. When repairs would cost more than the car is worth, sell it as a junk car instead of finding a fully enclosed place to keep it.
If you're not sure which side of that line your car is on, selling a car with a knocking or blown engine and selling one with a failing transmission lay out what the repairs typically cost. For a wreck the insurer has declared a total loss, selling a totaled car covers buying it back and the salvage title.
Offices you or your buyer may need
- •A buyer titles the car at an MVD office or an Authorized Third Party provider. The MVD office in Scottsdale is at 7339 E. Paradise Ln. It opens at noon on the second Wednesday of each month, and you need to arrive before 4 p.m. for a vehicle inspection (source) (source)
- •As of September 2026, the Phoenix-area emissions program lists a testing station in the city at 8448 E. Evans Rd. If you had the car tested, that test stays valid for the transfer. If you didn't, the buyer has it tested (source) (source)
- •The Photo Enforcement Unit’s address is 7601 E. McKellips Rd., Building A (480-312-7014), the police department’s McKellips station. Early-release hearings for impounded cars are held there too, walk-in only, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday (source) (source)
Asked by Scottsdale sellers
I sold my car and a Scottsdale photo-enforcement notice came in my name. What do I do?
If you weren't driving, use Option B on page 2 of the complaint: the declaration of non-driver. Mail it in the enclosed envelope at least 7 days before your court date, with a clear copy of a government-issued photo ID. Without the ID copy, the declaration won't be processed. If the state finds you weren't the driver, your complaint is dismissed and a new one goes to the right person. You can also send the ID straight to the Photo Enforcement Unit, listed above.
Can I sell a car that Scottsdale police impounded?
Selling won't get it out sooner. On the 20-day holds state law requires, the police department says a new owner won't qualify for an early release if you sell the car or change the name on the title after the impound. The owner is still responsible for the administrative, towing and storage fees, whenever the car is released. After a city parking tow, the registered owner can go straight to the tow yard with photo ID and current registration or title; storage there runs $53.50 a day.
Can my long truck wait on the street until you pick it up?
Not on a residential street if it's longer than 22 feet. City code bars parking or storing a vehicle that long on streets or alleys in a residential area, except while loading, unloading, delivering or making a service call. The same goes for a commercially registered truck on a chassis rated over one ton. Leave it in the driveway and we'll pick it up there.
What if the buyer leaves the car on a Scottsdale street after I sell it?
City code presumes the last registered owner is responsible for a car abandoned or stored on a Scottsdale street, including the towing and storage charges. That presumption doesn't apply once written notice of the title transfer has been filed under state law. MVD's Sold Notice is how you give MVD that notice; in MVD's words, it “notifies us that your vehicle has transferred ownership.”
Our Arizona selling page shows how to file a Sold Notice.