Sell your car in Paterson: running, dead or flood-damaged
Where your car is parked in Paterson matters when the Passaic rises. The National Weather Service ties each height on its Little Falls river gauge to named Paterson streets, and that list is just below. Check it, then ask online for a straight cash number.
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From the river streets to the curb
- Check where it's parked. On a flood-list street, or in a lot you don't control? Say so when you ask.
- Tell us what the water did. Online or by phone, say whether it runs, whether it took water and whether the title carries a flood brand.
- Meet the truck. Same-week pickups run across Paterson and the river towns. Have the title where you can grab it, and we handle the rest at the curb.
Where we pick up around Paterson
We pick up in all six of Paterson's wards, from 07501 by the Great Falls to 07505 along Broadway. Pickup also reaches Clifton, Passaic, Totowa, Fair Lawn and Elmwood Park. Wayne, Little Falls and Hawthorne, which show up on the same river gauge's flood list, are covered too.
Watch the river: the Little Falls gauge page shows the forecast, so you can see how close the Passaic is to your street’s height. For a call, text or email when the city issues a severe-weather, road-closure or evacuation notice, sign up for the Citizen Alert System.
Which Paterson streets flood first
At 5.5 feet on the Little Falls gauge, the lower end of East Holsman Street, closest to the river, starts to flood. At 6.5 feet, the action stage, the lower end of Bergen Street follows. At 9 feet, the major-flood line, parts of River Street, Presidential Boulevard, Bridge Street, Tyler Street, Totowa Avenue and McLean Boulevard flood. At 10 feet, water starts to flow over the Temple Street bridge (NOAA).
If your car sits on one of those blocks and you plan to sell anyway, don't wait on the forecast. Pickup is often within a day or two of an accepted offer, and sooner when weather is on the way. If it already took water, see our guide to selling a flood-damaged car.
Cash for your car in Paterson
A dead car can't sit on a Paterson street for free. Abandoned cars on city streets are towed at the police department's direction, with the charges billed to the registered owner. Under the fee schedule the city adopted in December 2021, a light-duty tow is $150 and outdoor storage for a car is $45 a day (City of Paterson code).
Selling it before it gets towed is simpler. We pay cash for cars in Paterson, NJ that are old, damaged, flooded or no longer run, and a car with a flood brand on its title still gets an offer. If yours is past fixing, see how to sell a junk car. A junk car in Paterson gets the same pickup at the curb as any other.
When a flood claim ends with the insurer declaring the car a total loss, selling a totaled car explains whether to take the payout or keep the car, and what the salvage title means after that. If it's the engine or a crash instead, see selling a car with a blown engine or head gasket or selling an accident-damaged car.
Recent crests at the Little Falls gauge
Asked by Paterson sellers
Who releases a car the police had towed in Paterson?
The police department. Call the non-emergency line, (973) 321-1111, open 24 hours (Paterson Police). The tow yard can't release a police-ordered tow until you have a release from the department. Yards release cars from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and an after-hours release adds $75. A car towed after 4 p.m. and claimed before 11 a.m. the next day is charged one day of storage. If it isn't claimed and paid for by midnight of the 30th day, along with a $50 administrative fine, the city can sell it at auction (City of Paterson code).
Do Paterson's snow rules reach a parked car that won't start?
They can. Paterson's street code has an article titled Vehicles Obstructing Snow Removal, and its section 435-131 covers snow removal during street cleaning times and the removal of unoccupied vehicles (City of Paterson code). A dead car can't move for the plows, so book the pickup before the first storm.
Who can tow a dead car from my apartment building's lot?
The property owner. Paterson's towing code makes the owner of private property responsible for removing unattended or disabled vehicles, with a tow company of the owner's choosing, under state law N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.6. The city's own tows of abandoned cars cover streets, parks and other public places, not private lots (City of Paterson code). Ask the owner before the car sits there, and tell us the lot and the space when you book.
Replacing a title, filling in the bill of sale and returning your plates are state processes; our New Jersey page explains each.