Sell your car in Newark: running or not, damaged or still financed
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How a Newark pickup goes
- Get the number. Ask for an instant offer online or by phone, and say whether the car runs. If you still owe on it, name the lender and rough payoff: it's factored into the number, the payoff comes out of your proceeds, and the lender releases the title (see selling a car with a loan).
- Work around street cleaning. On April 14, 2026, Newark announced enforcement of its street-cleaning rule, with morning routes from 8 a.m. to noon and afternoon routes from noon to 4 p.m. (Newark Public Safety). If the car sits on one of those blocks, book the pickup outside its hours.
- Meet the buyer at the car. One verified buyer, one appointment, and payment on the spot.
Where we pick up around Newark
Pickup covers every Newark ward, from downtown's 07102 and the Ironbound to Vailsburg and the South Ward's 07112. It crosses the city line into East Orange and Irvington, which border Newark, and reaches Orange, Bloomfield, Belleville, Nutley, Harrison and Elizabeth.
Plates stay on while it's on the street. Section 20:10-4 also bars keeping a car on a Newark street without a current registration plate (source).
Newark's MVC building doesn't do titles
Search for the NJ DMV in Newark and you'll find the NJ MVC Licensing Center at 228 Frelinghuysen Avenue, which handles licenses, road tests and driver hearings (MVC locations). Title transfers and duplicate titles are by appointment only, and Newark isn't on the MVC's appointment list for either (new titles, duplicate titles). East Orange's Vehicle Center, at 183 South 18th Street, is on both. If your title is lost or not in your name, book that first; our guide to selling a car without a title walks through it.
The Frelinghuysen site's state inspection station closed for good on April 11, 2026, to make way for a new, expanded Newark agency. For inspections, the MVC suggests its stations in Secaucus, Rahway, Wayne and Paramus (MVC notice).
Cash for your car in Newark
We pay cash for cars in Newark, NJ that are old, damaged or no longer run, and a car that can't drive out gets towed at pickup. Section 20:10-4 of Newark's city code bars keeping a car on a street, a sidewalk, city land, or private land in a residential or business district if it is missing tires, wheels, the engine or other essential parts, has heavy fire or vandal damage, is wrecked or partly taken apart, or lacks a current inspection sticker.
The owner of the car and the owner of the land get a notice to move it within 72 hours, and can ask the Director of Engineering for a hearing, in writing, before the time runs out. If it isn't moved, a conviction brings a fine of $100 to $1,000, and police can tow the car as abandoned. Inside a fully enclosed building, such as a closed garage, the rule doesn't apply. A car past fixing is a junk car sale, and that page has the steps.
For a wrecked or fire-damaged car, see selling a car with accident or fire damage, and if your insurer declared it a total loss, selling a car after an insurance total loss explains the payout, the buyback and the salvage title. If the engine is what stopped it, selling a car with a blown or seized engine helps you figure out what failed and whether fixing it is worth the cost.
What a tow can cost in Newark
- •$65 — the cap on a licensed tow of a passenger car under 5,001 pounds within Newark (section 8:19-6)
- •$10 a day — the cap on storing a passenger car for the first 30 days, then $15 a day (section 8:19-6)
Asked by Newark sellers
Can I leave my car on a Newark street with a "For Sale" sign on it?
No. Newark's code bars leaving a vehicle standing on a street with a "For Sale" sign, and bans repairs on the street beyond the emergency work needed to move a car (chapter 20:10). Show it in a driveway or garage instead.
What does Newark's Auto Squad need before a towed car is released?
Call the Newark Police Auto Squad at (973) 733-5616 first to confirm where it is. Bring a valid driver's license, the registration and proof of insurance to the tow company's impound yard, where a police officer helps with the release, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays. Towed from a private lot or an apartment complex? Call the property owner or the tow company on the posted sign instead (Newark Public Safety).
Can you pick up from a parking garage or near the airport?
Downtown garages and lots near the airport in 07114 both work, as long as the garage allows a tow or the car can drive out on its own. Sort out access with the garage before the appointment, and the handoff takes minutes.
Can a work van sit on my street while I sell it?
Not overnight, if it's used for business. Newark bars commercial vehicles from parking on any city street between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., and it also bars storing or parking one on property in a residential district (section 23:5-3.2). Tell us where it's parked when you ask.
Our New Jersey selling guide goes through signing the title and taking off your plates.