Sell your car in Groton: running or not, on PCS orders or staying put
Groton is home to Naval Submarine Base New London, the Navy's first submarine base. Whether you're leaving on orders or just done with a car, you can get a firm offer the same day. Below are your choices under PCS orders, and how to close out your car tax with the Town of Groton.
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Getting your car tax credit from the Town of Groton
- Get the plate receipt from the CT DMV. It shows the registration was cancelled, and the Groton Assessor requires it for any credit. If you'd rather go in person, the full-service DMV hub for Groton's ZIP codes is in Old Saybrook, at 7 Custom Drive; book an appointment, because walk-ins can mean a long wait.
- Add one proof of the sale. That's a copy of the signed bill of sale, the signed title transfer, or the new owner's registration or title. Take both papers to the Assessor at Town Hall, 45 Fort Hill Road, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
- Beat the deadline. Proof has to reach the Assessor by December 31 two years after the assessment date, so a car on the October 1, 2025 list has until December 31, 2027. The Groton Assessor's motor vehicle pamphlet lists the proof for each case.
Where we pick up around Groton
Pickup can be set around watch schedules and duty days: base housing, an off-base rental, a spot near the base if that beats your driveway, or a work lot at shift change. That covers Groton's 06340 and the base's 06349, and the whole town from the Thames to the Mystic River, including the City of Groton and Noank. We also cover all of Mystic, New London across the Gold Star Bridge, Ledyard, Gales Ferry, Waterford, Norwich, East Lyme, Niantic and Stonington. We buy cars in Groton on titles from any state.
Home of record outside Connecticut? If you're stationed in Groton on orders and keep your legal ties to another state, the Groton Assessor may exempt your car once you file the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act affidavit. Bring your LES and the notarized original; the forms are also at Base Legal. With that on file, you may have no Groton car tax to settle when you sell.
On PCS orders: ship it, store it or sell it
Military OneSource sets out the government's side. On overseas orders, the government generally pays to ship one vehicle if your new installation allows it. A move within the continental U.S. is largely at your own expense. PCS orders can also come with storage for one car at government expense, and storage under the Global POV Contract means no out-of-pocket monthly fees. Turn-in for shipping or storage happens at a vehicle processing center, by appointment only, with a quarter tank of fuel or less and proof of no open electrical or fire recalls. On base, Navy MWR New London lists storage lot rentals on its Thames View Marina page.
Selling is the third choice. Pickup is scheduled around your out-processing, and you're paid when the signed title changes hands. Base vehicle passes come from Building 500, next to the Main Gate, which asks for current registration and proof of insurance along with your ID and license. If you still drive the car on base, cancel those only after the sale. Our guide to selling your car before a PCS move helps you weigh all three choices against your dates.
Cash for your car in Groton
An old car that no longer runs still counts at Town Hall. The Groton Assessor taxes motor vehicles whether they're registered or not. If you keep a car you no longer register, you have to list it on a personal property declaration between October 1 and November 1 each year, and the town's guide says skipping that form can bring a 25% penalty. If you want to sell a junk car in Groton instead of declaring it every fall, pickup comes to you, and our junk car page explains how those sales work.
Stopped running because of a blown head gasket or a knocking engine, or a transmission that slips or won't go into reverse? Those guides set the repair bill against selling the car unfixed, so you can decide before you have to declare it again in October.
What Groton charges on a car, and when
- •For fiscal year 2027, the Town of Groton taxes cars at 25.29 mills, and its city and fire districts add their own rates on top, for example 4.5 in the City of Groton and 1.69 in the Noank Fire District, per the State of Connecticut's official mill-rate dataset (official page)
- •Groton's motor vehicle taxes were due in one installment on July 1, 2026, with August 3, 2026 the last day to pay without penalty; miss that and interest is 1.5% a month from the July 1 due date, per the Town of Groton's taxpayers' guide (official page)
Asked by Groton sellers
I live in Navy housing by the sub base. Does Groton or Ledyard send my car tax bill?
It depends on where you lived on October 1. The base spans both towns, and the town where you lived that day taxes the car for the year. Groton's own guide says it bills a car when the Connecticut registration showed a Groton address on that date. Check which town's name is on your bill before you ask for a credit.
I moved my plate to my new car. Can I still get a credit on the old one?
Not on the old car's current bill. The Groton Assessor says that when the plate was transferred to another vehicle, that bill can't be adjusted and is due in full. The credit for the old car is applied on the supplemental bill the town sends in December.
I owe back car tax in Groton. Will that hold anything up after I sell?
It holds up your next Connecticut registration. Groton reports unpaid motor vehicle taxes to the DMV, and new registrations and renewals are blocked until they're paid. Pay the Tax Division in full by cash, bank check or money order and you can register the next business day; by credit card, allow two business days.
We're selling my spouse's car. Can it be exempt from Groton car tax too?
It can, if Connecticut isn't your spouse's home of record either. Once your Servicemembers Civil Relief Act affidavit is on file with the Groton Assessor, your spouse can file the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act affidavit. Theirs is due every year, and the Assessor wants the notarized original.
For how the title and bill of sale work anywhere in the state, read our Connecticut selling guide.