Sell your car in Denver: running, hail-damaged or not running
Get a real cash offer on your car online, and a driver picks it up free wherever it's parked in the Denver metro. Hail dents don't need fixing first. If the car is stuck on a city street, Denver limits how long it can stay there, as the next section explains.
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Taking the car off ExpressToll
- Delete the car from your account. An ExpressToll account gets the lowest toll rates on E-470, the 47-mile toll road along the metro's eastern edge, and on Northwest Parkway and CDOT's Express Lanes. ExpressToll's advice for a sold car is to remove the transponder and delete the vehicle, so you aren't billed for future trips (ExpressToll FAQ, September 2026). The ExpressToll Service Center is at (303) 537-3470.
- Order a tag for your next car. A sticker tag can't be reused once it comes off the windshield. Adding another vehicle to the account costs nothing, and a new transponder arrives within five business days (E-470). Until the new car is on your account, E-470 bills it by its plate, at a higher rate, and mails the statement to its DMV-registered owner.
- Keep proof of the sale date. ExpressToll asks sellers to keep a complete bill of sale, and its user agreement says you aren't liable for tolls or fees if you prove the car was sold before the trip.
Where we pick up around Denver
You don't drive anywhere: the driver comes to the car, in Denver or elsewhere in the metro, including Aurora, Lakewood, Arvada and Englewood, and pickup is free. It usually happens within a couple of business days of accepting your offer, sometimes sooner.
Denver's county motor vehicle offices close their lines when they fill. That is typically before 1:30 p.m., so arrive early: doors open at 7 a.m., or 7:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. The offices serve only Denver County customers.
Cash for your car in Denver
Denver city code calls a vehicle a junker when it looks inoperable, disabled or unsafe, or has no current plate, and is also badly damaged: broken windows, tires that are missing or not properly inflated, or a missing door, motor or transmission. A junker can spend only 24 hours in total on a public street, and moving it to another block doesn't restart the count (Ordinance 23-0373, passed May 2023). Any car left parked in one spot on the street for 72 hours or longer can be towed to the Sheriff's impound lot.
A car in that shape, or one that simply won't start, can still be sold where it's parked. The offer takes its condition into account, and the tow is part of the pickup, so the car doesn't need to run. For cash for junk cars in Denver that are past repair, start with the junk car offer.
If hail dented the car, selling a hail-damaged car explains how buyers price hail dents and what you have to tell them; if the insurer totaled it, selling a totaled car covers the payout, keeping the car and the salvage title. For a blown engine or a slipping transmission, see selling a car with engine problems or selling a car with a bad transmission.
Denver's county motor vehicle offices in September 2026
- •Since August 3, 2026, the office at 2855 Tremont Place serves only vehicle dealers and commercial customers (Denver Motor Vehicle)
- •Residents use the Northeast (4685 Peoria St.), Northwest (3698 W. 44th Ave.), Southeast (2243 S. Monaco Pkwy.) and Southwest (3100 S. Sheridan Blvd.) offices (Denver Motor Vehicle)
- •Phone help is 3-1-1 or 720-865-4600, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays; the offices can't take payments over the phone (Denver Motor Vehicle)
Asked by Denver sellers
Where can I get an emissions test in Denver?
Air Care Colorado, the emissions testing network for the Denver area, has two stations with Denver addresses: 2300 S. Lipan St. and 10190 E. Warren Ave. Neither tests diesels; Air Care keeps a separate list of diesel stations. It directs front- or all-wheel-drive cars on low-profile rims of 17 inches or more, and cars with wheels over 34 inches, to its Sheridan, Boulder, Ken Caryl or Fort Collins stations instead. Air Care says mid to late afternoons are the least busy, and to avoid Mondays, the first business day after a holiday and the last few days of the month.
What happens if the city tows my car before I sell it?
It goes to the Sheriff's Vehicle Impound Facility at 5160 York St., where owners can collect cars from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. For a car under 6,000 pounds the tow costs $120 and storage is $20 a day, and staff can't waive either. Bring a valid photo ID plus current registration or an unsigned title. A car that can't be driven out leaves only on a PUC-certified commercial tow truck. If it isn't claimed within 30 days after any holds are dropped, it is sold at auction or sent to recycling as junk, and any tickets on it stay active.
I signed the title over, then the car was towed. What does the new owner need?
A title in their own name. The Denver impound accepts current registration or an unsigned title as proof of ownership, and the name on the photo ID has to match. If the title is signed, the city says to take it to the DMV first and have it transferred into the new owner's name.
A Denver parking ticket came for a car I had already sold. Who do I call?
The city's Parking Violations Bureau, at (866) 280-9988 during business hours. The city says to call that number for instructions when a vehicle was sold before the citation was issued.
Where to get an emissions test is above; whether your sale needs one, and how to sign the title, are Colorado rules, set out on our Colorado guide.