Sell your car in Louisville: running, flood-damaged or not running
Cash for cars in Louisville, KY, trucks included, starts with an instant cash offer online or by phone. The car is then picked up where it's parked, anywhere in Louisville Metro and south into Bullitt County. Below are the local rules that touch a sale here, from Metro's code on cars that don't run to RiverLink and the Jefferson County tax roll.
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Before and after the pickup
- Ask the clerk what's owed on the car. The Jefferson County Clerk collects any overdue tax on a vehicle before or as part of its transfer, and its call center or live chat can tell you the current year's amount.
- Take the car off RiverLink. Pull the transponder from the windshield and remove the vehicle from your account; RiverLink charges tolls to the account holder until that's done. A RiverLink local transponder can't be moved to another vehicle.
- Send the PVA your proof. Once the car is gone, give the Jefferson County PVA a copy of the bill of sale or of both sides of the signed title, and it takes the car off the tax roll.
Where we pick up around Louisville
Pickup covers all of Louisville Metro, from downtown (40202) and the cities inside the Watterson, like St. Matthews and Shively, out the Gene Snyder to Jeffersontown, Middletown, Fern Creek and Okolona. It also crosses into Bullitt County, where Mount Washington and Shepherdsville (40165) are inside the normal range, with no surcharge.
Is the car parked on the street? Metro's traffic code makes it a parking violation to leave any vehicle in one spot on a public way for 24 hours or longer, or to park one there with an expired plate or no plate at all. Once a warning is marked on the window nearest the road, a car still there three days later is treated as abandoned and can be impounded. Say it's at the curb when you ask for the offer.
If the April 2025 flood reached your car
The National Weather Service's Louisville office ranks the April 2025 crest of the Ohio River at the McAlpine Upper gauge 8th all time, and the Gene Snyder Freeway was among the roads that closed. If a car from that water, or any flood since, ends up with a salvage title, the Jefferson County Clerk spells out what follows. The plate and title are turned in at its office, and the new title can take up to six weeks to arrive by mail. The car can't be driven while it carries a salvage title.
Putting it back on the road as a rebuilt car takes repairs, a Sheriff's inspection and a review by the Transportation Cabinet in Frankfort, a process the clerk says can take 4 to 10 weeks. Selling it as it sits is the other route. A car that took water still gets an offer when you tell us about the water up front, and it's collected where it's parked, so it never has to be driven. Our guide to selling a flood-damaged car covers the rest.
Cash for your car in Louisville
Louisville Metro's property maintenance code (section 156.052) says no inoperative or unlicensed vehicle may be parked, kept or stored on any premises, and none may sit in major disrepair or half stripped. A code official can order the owner to take the car out of the county, move it into a fully enclosed structure or otherwise fix the problem within seven days.
Ignore that order and Metro can tow and impound the car. Getting it back means paying the towing, handling, impoundment and storage charges. If it isn't claimed and no appeal is filed, 45 days after impoundment it is deemed abandoned and becomes Metro's property, to be used, auctioned or sold for scrap.
Getting cash for junk cars in Louisville before it comes to that works like any other sale here: an offer online or by phone, then pickup from the yard, driveway or curb where the car sits, whether it runs or not. Here's how selling a junk car works.
For a car sitting with a blown engine or head gasket, selling a car with engine problems shows what the repair usually costs. If water got into the car, selling a damaged car covers what you have to disclose about flood damage, and selling a totaled car explains your two options if the insurer declared it a total loss.
Where Louisville car paperwork goes
- •The Jefferson County Clerk runs eight motor vehicle branches, including Downtown at 200 S. Fifth Street. Seven stay open until 6:30 p.m. one weekday, such as Jeffersontown on Thursdays and Westport on Wednesdays, and the Motor Vehicle Call Center at 502-574-5700 answers for all of them (source)
- •Vehicle tax values and appeals go to the Jefferson County PVA's Motor Vehicle Department at 815 W. Market St., Suite 400, 502-574-6450 (source)
- •RiverLink, which tolls the two I-65 bridges and the Lewis and Clark Bridge, takes account changes at 855-748-5465, online or at a customer service center (source, source)
Asked by Louisville sellers
Which office handles the title when you sell a car in Louisville?
The Jefferson County Clerk. In Kentucky, the title and plate counter most people call the Kentucky DMV is the county clerk's office, and that is where the buyer takes the signed title. For a sale between two Kentucky owners, the Jefferson County Clerk asks for the original title (no photocopies), the odometer reading and the buyer's Kentucky driver's license. If the buyer is registering the car, it also wants proof of Kentucky insurance in the buyer's name. If the paperwork arrives already signed and notarized, a photocopy of the license is enough.
Where can I meet a private buyer safely in Louisville?
At an LMPD MetroSWAP zone. There is one outside four police divisions: the 2nd at 3419 Bohne Avenue, the 3rd at 7219 Dixie Highway, the 7th at 7201 Outer Loop and the 8th at 2927 Goose Creek Road. Each has two marked parking spots under 24-hour video. LMPD's advice is to meet only there, in daylight, and to tell someone you trust where you'll be. If we're buying the car, the pickup comes to your address instead.
What does the Jefferson County Clerk want when the buyer is from Southern Indiana?
When a Kentucky-titled car goes to a buyer in another state, the clerk says the transfer happens in the buyer's state, not in Kentucky. Keep a photocopy or photo of both sides of the signed title as your proof of sale. Because some states don't tell Kentucky about the transfer, the clerk recommends checking back with its office once the buyer's time to title the car has run out, to make sure the car is out of your name.
Does Jefferson County tax a car that doesn't run at full value?
At first, yes. The Jefferson County PVA values vehicles as of January 1 at a standard guide's clean trade-in figure, then can lower that on appeal for a car that was wrecked and not repaired, needed mechanical repairs, or carried a salvage title on January 1. Send a repair estimate from a licensed mechanic or body shop and dated photos, through its online appeal portal or with its affidavit form, before 4 p.m. on the tax due date. Filing does not delay the payment date.
For the signing and notary steps every Kentucky seller follows, see how to sell a car in Kentucky.