Sell your car in Lewiston-Auburn: running, damaged or won't start
Get a straight cash offer and free pickup whether the car sits in Lewiston or across the river in Auburn. The two cities keep separate registration offices and separate winter parking rules, and both can matter the week you sell, so this page sets them side by side.
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From offer to pickup in Lewiston-Auburn
- Put our offer next to the listings. Check our offer against what similar cars actually list for around L-A, then take whichever answer respects your time. We're comfortable being compared.
- Watch for a ban if it's parked on the street. Between December and April, sign up for Lewiston's Alert Center to get a text or email when a Winter Parking Ban is called, or listen to WIGY at 1240 AM or 103.1 FM, so the car isn't towed before pickup.
- Hand it over. Pickup is free on either side of the river, and we bring the paperwork to every pickup so nothing gets missed. Keep your copy of everything you sign.
Where we pick up around Lewiston-Auburn
We buy cars in Lewiston and in Auburn on the same terms, so a car on Lisbon Street in 04240 and one across the river in 04210 get the same free pickup. The same goes for the towns around the two cities, with Lisbon, Sabattus, Greene, Turner, Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls among them.
Lewiston's registration desk: the town office for car registrations and excise tax is the Treasury Office on the second floor of City Hall. The Maine BMV (DMV) branch for the area is on Mollison Way.
Cash for your car in Lewiston-Auburn
A car that won't start is hard to keep through a Lewiston winter. From December to April the city calls a Winter Parking Ban for each plowable storm, and after dark the lights flash on top of City Hall's tower while one is on. A car left on the street is fined and towed: a $32 ban ticket, then $150 to the towing company and a storage fee of $50 to $90 once 24 hours pass. In Auburn, a car in a winter relief lot during a ban needs a free permit from the Auburn Police Department, and one towed without it costs the towing fees plus $35 to the city.
Cash for cars in Lewiston includes the ones that can't be moved. An old, damaged or dead car still gets a straight cash offer and free pickup, and selling it now keeps it off the street when the next ban is called. If it has no keys or no title and hasn't moved since last winter, sell it as a junk car before a ban puts it in a tow lot.
A seized engine keeps the car from starting, and a transmission that has quit keeps it from moving: selling a car with a seized engine and selling a car with a bad transmission compare either repair bill with selling it as is. If a crash damaged it or the insurer totaled it, see selling a damaged car and selling a totaled car.
Where Lewiston-Auburn car paperwork gets done
- •Lewiston City Hall, 27 Pine Street: registration renewals, private sales and first-time registrations for cars bought from a Maine dealer can be done at the Treasury Office. Registration questions go to 207-513-3131 (verify it here)
- •Maine BMV Lewiston branch, 36 Mollison Way, Suite 1: open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., phone 207-753-7750 (verify it here)
- •Auburn Hall, 60 Court Street: the City Clerk & Tax Division is on the first floor, with the elevator at the rear parking lot entrance, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Auburn says first-time registrations must be processed there (verify it here)
Asked by Lewiston-Auburn sellers
What's my car's trade-in value in Lewiston, and should I take it?
Only the dealer can give you its trade-in figure, so get it in writing and compare it with our offer before you sign anything. Our trade-in vs. selling guide compares the two routes in more detail. If you do trade in at a Maine dealer, Lewiston's Treasury Office can register the new car: bring the blue title application, the buyer's order showing the sales tax, the mileage and proof of insurance.
My car was towed in a Lewiston parking ban. How do I get it back?
Call the Lewiston/Auburn Emergency Communications System at 207-784-6421 with the plate number and the street where it was parked to confirm the tow. Then pay the ban ticket and any unpaid parking tickets at the Lewiston Police Department, 141 Mill Street. The car isn't released until those are paid, and staff there will tell you which towing company has it. The towing company collects its own fees at its lot; the city says cash is preferred and checks aren't taken.
I'm buying another car. What will Lewiston or Auburn City Hall ask for?
In Lewiston, bring the old registration if your plates are moving to the new car. For a car bought from a private seller, add the bill of sale signed by both of you, the previous owner's signed title, the mileage and proof of insurance. The Treasury Office no longer quotes registration costs ahead of time, and anyone who files an SR-22 must register at the BMV instead. Auburn's private-sale list is the previous owner's signed title, a bill of sale and proof of current insurance.
I pay tolls with E-ZPass from Exit 75 or Exit 80. What happens to the tag?
Take it out before pickup. The Lewiston and Auburn interchanges have no toll plazas; on this stretch the Maine Turnpike charges at its New Gloucester and West Gardiner plazas, and a tag left in the car still reports trips there to your account. A hard-case tag can move to your next car if it's the same vehicle class. A sticker tag stops working once it's peeled off. Then update the plates listed on your Maine E-ZPass account.
The paperwork Maine asks of every seller is on our Maine selling guide; this page covers what differs in Lewiston and Auburn.