Sell your car in Lexington: running or not, high-mileage or wrecked
Get an instant cash offer online or ask for one by phone, with no haggling, and we come to you anywhere in Fayette County or the towns around it. We buy cars across Lexington, from a campus commuter to a truck that quit in the side yard. Selling on your own first? City code and UK's parking rules limit where a for-sale car can sit.
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What to know before Room 108
- Find the right room. Title transfers in Lexington go through the Fayette County Clerk's office at 162 East Main Street, which lists its vehicle work under "Department of Motor Vehicles." Transfers are in Room 108, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the vehicles line is (859) 253-3344.
- Check the calendar. The office closes on primary and general election days as well as holidays, and its hours page lists each date.
- Bring ID and a way to pay. Whoever goes needs a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license or passport. Room 108 takes cash, certified and cashier's checks, money orders, personal checks and credit cards.
Where we pick up around Lexington
Pickup covers all of Fayette County, plus Georgetown (40324) up I-75, Nicholasville (40356) and Versailles to the southwest, Richmond (40475) down I-75, Winchester east on I-64, Paris out Paris Pike, and Frankfort to the west. If you work shifts, you get first pick of pickup times: tell us when you're off and we'll plan around it.
Out-of-state title and a Lexington buyer: their sheriff's VIN inspection can be done at the county clerk's office, weekdays 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the car parked in a "Reserved for Auto Inspections" space in the Helix Garage next door. The $15 fee goes to the inspector in cash, or by check or money order to the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, which can also inspect the car where it sits: (859) 252-1771.
Where a for-sale car can sit in Lexington
Keep it off the street as a display. Section 18-124 of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County code bars parking a vehicle on any street for the principal purpose of showing it for sale. The same section bars washing, greasing or repairing a vehicle on the street, apart from emergency repairs, so any fixing before a showing belongs in your driveway.
A University of Kentucky lot is no place to wait for a buyer either. Under UK's parking regulations, a vehicle reported as abandoned, meaning left on University property for five days, can be impounded at the owner's expense.
Cash for your car in Lexington
A car that stopped running can turn into a code case where it sits. Section 12-2 makes it unlawful to let junked, wrecked, inoperative, non-licensed or improperly licensed vehicles create a nuisance on any property in the urban county; the list names unlicensed cars alongside wrecked ones. The code excuses inoperative farm equipment, and a collector's cars kept out of ordinary public view behind fencing, trees or shrubbery. A dead sedan in plain sight of the street fits neither.
Parking it for good doesn't stop the tax. The Fayette County Clerk notes that a vehicle kept off public roads doesn't have to be registered, but its property tax is still assessed every year. You can sell a junk car in Lexington as it sits: start with our offer for junk and non-running cars, and pickup comes to the yard, garage or barn where it is parked.
When the engine or transmission is what gave out, selling a car with a blown engine or head gasket and selling a car with a slipping transmission show what each repair costs and what you must tell a buyer. For a wrecked car, selling a car with collision damage covers what buyers check.
How a parked car turns into a fine
- •Anyone can report a suspected violation to LexCall at (859) 425-2255, or 311 from a Lexington phone (source)
- •The first notice of violation carries no penalty and sets a deadline. Miss it and a citation can follow, and the urban county government can clear the nuisance itself, charge the owner and place a lien on the property (source)
- •Fines under Section 12-5 run from $100 to $2,500 per offense, and each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense (source)
Asked by Lexington sellers
Do I have to go to the Fayette County Clerk's office with my buyer?
No, as long as your part of the title is finished. The clerk's own FAQ says that once the seller has completed their section in full, signature and all, the buyer can come in and transfer the car without you. The clerk does no transfers by mail, so whoever goes has to go in person.
I sold my car and still got a Fayette County tax bill for it. What now?
Check the date first. The Fayette County PVA says whoever owned the car on January 1 owes that year's tax, even if it sold before the tax came due. If the buyer never transferred it, the clerk asks for two affidavits: the Affidavit for Correction/Exoneration (62A044) and the Affidavit of Incomplete Transfer (89FCC-266). A car with collision damage or very high miles on January 1 can be valued lower if you send the PVA proof, such as repair costs or documented mileage, within 45 days of the assessment notice. The PVA's number is (859) 246-2722.
What happens to my UK parking permit when I sell my car?
You keep it. UK Transportation Services registers permits to the permit holder, who can move the hang tag to any vehicle they use on campus. Take it down before the car leaves, because the holder answers for every ticket written to a car displaying it. Done with campus parking? Return the permit for a prorated refund if you paid in full, along with any leftover pieces of an adhesive sticker.
The city impounded my car for parking tickets. Can I still sell it?
Only after it's released, so don't wait. The urban county code lets the city hold an impounded car until the outstanding parking fines and towing, handling and storage charges are paid, and releases it only on proof of ownership. If nobody claims it within ten business days, a certified letter goes to the registered owner. Forty-five days after that notice, an unclaimed car is deemed abandoned and becomes the urban county government's property, to use, auction or sell for scrap.
Sign the title the way the Kentucky DMV requires before anyone carries it to Room 108; our Kentucky title transfer guide shows each line.