Sell your car in Miami: running, flood-damaged or won't start
To sell your car in Miami, FL, start the instant offer online; pickup reaches every part of Miami-Dade County. Below is what only applies here: the 2026 king tide dates, the county's junk-car test, causeway and expressway tolls, and the Tax Collector's downtown office.
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Closing out causeway plans and toll bills
- Don't renew a causeway plan for a car that's leaving. Rickenbacker and Venetian annual plans run Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 whenever you buy them, and the county doesn't prorate them: $72 for the Rickenbacker resident plan, $120 for a commuter plan. Every plan needs an active SunPass and the car's current registration. Plan questions go to 305-854-2468 on weekdays.
- Take the car off your SunPass account. Every road listed above reads a transponder or the plate. If a Toll Enforcement Invoice still arrives for the sold car, GMX tells drivers to go to SunPass or call the Customer Service Center at 888-865-5352.
- If a registration hold shows up, trace it. GMX's toll inquiries page points drivers with a hold to GoRenew.com, where the VIN from your registration or title shows the name and phone number of whoever placed it.
Where we pick up around Miami
Pickup covers all of Miami-Dade County. The truck comes to the car, whether it's in a tower garage in Brickell (33131), a driveway in Hialeah (33010) or a backyard in Homestead (33030). Island addresses are covered too, from Miami Beach and the Venetian Islands to Key Biscayne.
Title work downtown. In Miami-Dade, Florida DMV title transfers and registrations are handled by the county Tax Collector's office. Its downtown office is at 200 NW 2nd Ave., by Government Center station, and is listed as open weekdays from 8 to 5 and Saturdays from 8 to 1.
The 2026 king tide dates, if your car parks low
Miami-Dade County's king tide page lists the fall 2026 dates predicted by the South Florida Water Management District: Sept. 10-13, Sept. 26-30, Oct. 7-13, Oct. 24-30, Nov. 6-9 and Nov. 23-26. The two October windows carry the highest predicted tides.
For cars, the county's advice is to move them to higher ground before a king tide starts, and to wash a car down with fresh water after driving it through salt water (Miami-Dade County, checked September 2026).
If an earlier tide already reached your car, you can still sell it for cash. Our guide covers what you have to tell a buyer about flood damage.
Cash for your car in Miami
Kendall, West Kendall and Westchester are part of unincorporated Miami-Dade, where the county code decides whether a car is abandoned property, which it also calls junk. The signs it weighs include no current tag or registration, missing parts or broken glass, crash damage that was never repaired, rust, and a car left in one spot with no repair work for 72 hours, such as one up on jacks or blocks. A car kept in a garage with four walls and a roof isn't counted as junk (County Code Sec. 19-3).
Inside City of Miami limits, a code inspector who finds abandoned property on private property posts a notice on it. The owner then has ten days to remove it or ask for a hearing. Once those ten days pass, the city may remove and destroy the car and bill the owner for the cost, less any salvage value, with a $100 fine for refusing to pay (City Code Secs. 22-146 and 22-147).
The instant offer on junk cars in Miami covers a car that won't start as well as one that runs, and the truck collects it from the address where it's parked. Lost keys, a missing title or a lender still on the loan are each covered on Sell My Junk Car.
If a flood or a crash led your insurer to total the car, selling a car the insurer totaled explains the payout, the buyback and the salvage title, and unrepaired crash damage is covered in selling a car with accident damage. If it won't start because of a blown engine or head gasket, that guide sets the repair bill against selling it as it is.
Miami roads that bill a transponder or a plate
- •GMX's five expressways, SR 112, SR 836, SR 874, SR 878 and SR 924, are all-electronic: every toll is paid by SunPass or toll-by-plate (GMX)
- •The Rickenbacker Causeway toll for a two-axle car is $3.25 with SunPass and $6.50 by plate, rates in effect since Oct. 1, 2025, and toll-by-plate adds a $2.50 monthly invoice fee (Miami-Dade DTPW)
- •The Venetian Causeway charges the same two-axle rates, and its toll plaza no longer takes cash (Miami-Dade DTPW)
Asked by Miami sellers
Is it legal to advertise my car for sale in a shopping-center lot?
Not in unincorporated Miami-Dade. County Code Sec. 19-15.12 bars displaying a vehicle for sale on business or commercial property unless the parcel has a zoning certificate of use for selling new or used cars. The first violation is a $100 civil notice, each additional car or repeat is $500, and a car that isn't moved can be towed, with the owner paying the towing and storage (Miami-Dade County Code).
Is there a safe public spot in Miami-Dade to meet someone buying my car?
In December 2025, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office named the public parking areas of its district stations, open 24 hours a day, as places to finish online-sale exchanges, along with the Stephen P. Clark Center at 111 NW First St. downtown (MDSO, December 2025). Its current safety page still lists that address as open 24 hours, seven days a week. If you take our offer instead, pickup happens at your own address.
How do I check whether my street floods at king tide?
Miami-Dade County points residents to NOAA's Sea Level Rise Viewer. Zoom in to your neighborhood and open the flood frequency tab; areas shown in red are vulnerable to king tide flooding. The county says most of the flooding hits the coast and very low-lying areas near other water bodies.
Do I need an appointment at the Tax Collector's office?
No. The Miami-Dade Tax Collector says appointments aren't required at its offices, though you can schedule one for certain services, and booking takes a valid ID. The office's phone line is (305) 375-5448.
What you sign and file when you sell is set by FLHSMV for the whole state, so it's on our Florida page.