Sell your car in Asheville: running, flood-damaged or won't start
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Getting Buncombe County car tax back
- Keep the plate receipt. The county asks for a copy of the receipt NCDMV gives you when the plate goes back.
- Send it within one year. A copy sent to the Buncombe County Tax Department within a year qualifies you for a release or refund. The county prorates a registered car's tax when it's sold.
- Go in person if you need to. The county's Tax Assessment office is at 182 College Street, open weekdays 8 to 5, (828) 250-4920. Park in the 164 College Street deck and bring the ticket for validation.
Where we pick up around Asheville
Pickup is free across Asheville and in the towns around it: Swannanoa and Black Mountain along the Swannanoa River, plus Weaverville, Mars Hill, Candler, Arden, Fletcher and Hendersonville. If the car won't run, say so when you book, and the truck comes with the right equipment the first time. A steep drive, a gravel road or a stretch still rough since Helene? Mention it, and we'll plan the route around it.
Selling your only car? ART buses run throughout Asheville and out to Black Mountain, from about 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. Every route starts at the ART Transit Station, 49 Coxe Avenue, where an assistant sells single, monthly and annual passes.
If Helene's water reached your car
We buy flood-branded and water-damaged cars. A flood brand lowers the offer. Our guide to selling a flood-damaged car covers what you have to tell a buyer.
After the storm, Buncombe County put orange tags on abandoned vehicles in the public right-of-way. The tag was not a ticket, but seven days after tagging the Sheriff's Office began towing any car still there. If yours was tagged or towed, the One Buncombe Call Center at (828) 250-6100 can tell you its status.
Cash for your car in Asheville
We buy junk cars in Asheville, along with old, wrecked and non-running ones. The city handles junked and abandoned cars as nuisances: its Code of Ordinances gives them a whole article (Chapter 10, Nuisances, Article II), and neighbors report them through the Asheville App. Our junk car page covers what you need, running or not.
A car without a current plate still gets taxed. Buncombe County requires owners of unlicensed vehicles to list them with the tax department every January, and it taxes the whole year on what you own on January 1. A car sold before then is one you won't have to list.
If your insurer declared the car a total loss after Helene, selling a totaled car lays out the choice between the insurer's check and keeping the car on a salvage title. Water or crash damage the insurer didn't total is covered in selling a damaged car, including the damage statement North Carolina requires from sellers, and a seized engine or blown head gasket in selling a car with a dead engine.
2026 tax rates on a car kept here
- •Inside Asheville's city limits, the county's 61.54 cents and the city's 50.78 cents add up to $1.1232 per $100 of value, or $1.2407 in the Asheville city school tax district. At the lower rate, a car valued at $10,000 owes about $112 a year (Buncombe County rates, July 23, 2026)
- •In the towns nearby, the county and town rates together come to $0.9704 per $100 in Black Mountain and $1.0704 in Weaverville (same schedule)
Asked by Asheville sellers
Why did Buncombe County bill me for a car I already replaced?
The county bills you for the vehicle you owned on the date of registration. If you moved your plate from the old car to a new one, the old car's tax is due in full, and the new car isn't billed until that plate's next renewal, per Buncombe County Tax Collections.
The county's value on my damaged car is too high. Can I appeal it?
You have 30 days from the due date on your tax notice. The county's Vehicle Appraisal Form has to be filled in by a licensed North Carolina vehicle dealer, at the car's fair market value on January 1, not today, and the county won't take a wholesale or trade value. So it helps when the damage came before January 1.
What do I need to get a car out of an Asheville police tow lot?
Go to the tow lot between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. with a photo ID, proof you own the car (title, registration or bill of sale) and proof of insurance. The city caps a standard police tow at $165, storage at $30 a day and an after-hours pickup at $50, per its towed-vehicle page. If a private lot had it towed, the lot's sign gives the towing company's name.
How long can a car sit at a downtown Asheville meter?
Two hours at most. Meters cost $2.50 an hour and must be paid from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday; Sundays are free. City garages are free for the first hour, then $2 an hour up to $15 a day, per the city's parking page.
North Carolina's title, notary and plate steps are on our North Carolina page.