Sell your car in Pittsburgh: running, rusty or failed inspection
Sell your car in Pittsburgh with an instant cash offer online; the truck then comes to the car, in the city or out through Allegheny County. If the car no longer runs, don't let it sit: the City lists junk vehicles among its most common code violations.
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If the City has written up a car in your yard
- Find the deadline. PLI inspectors follow a set process meant to give owners “a legal Request for Compliance and a reasonable amount of time to fix the issue” (City of Pittsburgh). The date is on the notice.
- Know what the second deadline means. If the problem isn't fixed by the deadline in the second request, the inspector comes back for a third and final inspection.
- Have the car gone before that visit. If the inspector finds the same violation, a third notice goes out and a criminal court complaint is filed with the local magisterial district judge, who can impose a fine after a hearing. Get the offer and book the pickup ahead of the re-inspection.
Where we pick up around Pittsburgh
Pickup covers every city neighborhood and the suburbs around them. To the east that means Penn Hills (15235) and Monroeville. To the south it means Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park, and up the Mon it means West Mifflin and McKeesport. North of the rivers, it runs through Ross Township and out to Cranberry Township (16066).
City steps and alley garages. The City says Pittsburgh has more public staircases than any city in the United States (City of Pittsburgh). If your door faces a flight of steps and the car is on the street below, on a steep driveway or in a garage off an alley, put that in the notes and the truck comes prepared.
Road salt and a rusting car in Allegheny County
In a snowstorm, the City's Public Works crews work to keep traffic moving on more than 1,200 miles of city streets, with trucks carrying plows and computerized salt spreaders (City of Pittsburgh). PennDOT plans the winter work on state roads in Allegheny County, and its first focus is the interstates and expressways (PennDOT). The salt spray ends up under the car, on the rocker panels, the subframe and the brake lines. If the brake lines have rusted, don't drive the car to a buyer; the pickup comes to it.
Cash for your car in Pittsburgh
Inside Pittsburgh, a car that has stopped running shouldn't be left to sit in the yard. The City's Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections (PLI) enforces a property code whose section 302.8 says that, unless another regulation allows it, no vehicle that is “inoperative or unlicensed” may be kept on any premises; the same section bars leaving a vehicle in major disassembly or stripping it for parts (City of Pittsburgh).
Getting cash for cars in Pittsburgh that are old, damaged or dead begins with the same instant offer online. Non-runners are included, and towing is part of the service. When you ask about cash for junk cars in Pittsburgh, list anything already missing from the car in the notes. For a car that's done for good, our junk car page covers the rest.
Before you pay to get a dead car running again, selling a car with engine problems shows how to tell whether a blown head gasket or a seized engine is worth fixing. A transmission that slips or won't go into reverse has its own guide: selling a car with a bad transmission.
Who handles a car problem in Pittsburgh
- •To report an abandoned car, call the City’s 311 Response Center with the location, a description of the vehicle and the plate number (source)
- •To contest a parking ticket, you must schedule a court hearing within 20 days of the date of issue. Pittsburgh Parking Court is at 240 Fourth Avenue, Downtown (source)
Asked by Pittsburgh sellers
Pittsburgh car trade-in value or a cash offer: which comes out ahead?
It can be the trade-in, once you count the tax. A dealer's trade-in figure is credit toward your next car, and in Allegheny County it also trims that car's sales tax. County residents pay 7% instead of the state's 6%, and the tax is charged on the price minus the trade-in (PennDOT). So a $5,000 trade-in saves $350 in tax; count that on the dealer's side before comparing it with the cash offer. Our guide to trading in versus selling goes further.
Can my Pittsburgh residential parking permit move to my next car?
It can. Pittsburgh permits are tracked by license plate number and enforced by recognition technology (Pittsburgh Parking Authority). Once you have the new car, log in to your permit account, choose Replace Vehicle, enter the new car and plate, and upload its registration. Parking Authority staff review it, and if it's approved your card isn't charged. That matters because permits cost $40 per vehicle per program year and aren't pro-rated (Pittsburgh Parking Authority).
Do any police departments near Pittsburgh keep a safe spot for meeting a buyer?
In McCandless, yes. The Town of McCandless police have set aside two signed spaces in their own parking lot, under 24-hour surveillance, for people meeting to finish deals made online (Town of McCandless). Take the instant offer and there's no one to meet; the truck comes to your address.
The title, notary and plate steps are on our Pennsylvania selling page; this page covers only what is different in Pittsburgh.