Sell your car in Montpelier: running, flood-damaged or totaled
Montpelier sits where the North Branch meets the Winooski, and both rivers can reach a parked car. If yours took on water, or never did, we'll tell you what it's worth.
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The Vermont DMV office on State Street
- It’s the main office. The Vermont DMV’s Montpelier office at 120 State Street is the department’s main office and the address it lists for mail. It’s open Monday to Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., except the third Wednesday of each month, when it opens at 8:45.
- An appointment helps. Exams need one. For everything else the DMV recommends one but doesn’t require it; book at mydmv.vermont.gov or 888-970-0357.
- Bring a way to pay. The office takes cash, checks, money orders, Visa, MasterCard and Discover.
Where we pick up around Montpelier
Pickup is free in Montpelier and the towns around it. Cars that don’t run are picked up too, including one that shouldn’t be started after taking on water, and you sign the title over when the truck arrives. Barre (05641) is covered, and so are East Montpelier, Plainfield, Northfield, Williamstown and Waterbury (05676). One ZIP quirk: 05602 reaches past the city line, so a Berlin or Middlesex address can also read “Montpelier, VT 05602” (city finance office).
Car waiting for pickup between November 15 and April 1? Montpelier’s alternate-side rule runs every night, whatever the forecast. After 5 p.m., move the car to the side that matches tomorrow’s date, odd or even building numbers, by midnight. On downtown stretches of Main, Langdon and Barre streets, parking is banned from 1 to 6:59 a.m.
Keeping a car dry until it’s sold
The city’s flood guide says Montpelier can flood in any season, but most often in spring, with snowmelt and river ice breaking up. In 1992, an ice jam just past the Bailey Avenue bridge sent water through most of downtown. If the car you’re selling is parked near the river, sign up for VT-Alert, the state system the city uses for emergency warnings. A flood warning is your cue to move the car uphill before pickup day.
If water already reached the car, don’t try to start it. We buy flood cars, including flood-branded and insurance-totaled ones, and cars that stayed dry on the same terms. Our guide to selling a flood-damaged car covers the rest.
Cash for your car in Montpelier
A car you’ve stopped registering can’t be left on a Montpelier street: the city’s parking ordinance bans leaving an unregistered car on any public street. If the owner doesn’t move it, police have it towed at the owner’s expense. From November 15 to April 1, some streets, including parts of Bailey Avenue and Dog River Road, allow no parking at all, and a car parked against the winter rules can be towed when Public Works needs to plow. It isn’t released until the costs are paid.
We buy junk cars in Montpelier, along with old and wrecked ones. Junk car sales have their own page: sell a junk car.
If the insurer has declared a flooded or wrecked car a total loss, selling a totaled car explains the buyback and the salvage title that follows. A wreck that wasn't totaled is covered in selling an accident-damaged car, and an engine that seized or won't turn over in selling a car with engine problems.
What floods at each river level
- •15 feet: water starts on State Street at the Bailey Avenue bridge, and Route 302 toward Barre may flood (city flood guide)
- •16 feet: the parking lots behind the state office buildings by the river, between Taylor Street and Bailey Avenue, flood (city flood guide)
- •17.5 feet: water covers the downtown streets (city flood guide)
- •On the North Branch, flood stage at the Langdon Street bridge gauge means street flooding and water in the low spot of the federal building parking lot (NWS gauge)
Asked by Montpelier sellers
Can a car wait in a Montpelier city lot until pickup?
Not for long. Free city lots allow 12 hours. In any public lot, a car left 72 hours outside the posted times and rates must be moved by its owner, and after a snowstorm the limit drops to 12 hours. During the winter parking season, there's no parking from 1 to 7 a.m. in the Pitkin Court Lot on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, or in the Blanchard Court Lot on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. A driveway is the safer spot, and pickup can happen there.
How many unpaid tickets before Montpelier police can boot a car?
Four. With four or more unpaid parking or traffic tickets in your name, police can boot the car on any public street or city lot. If it isn't claimed within 24 hours, it goes to a storage area. To release it, go to the police department at 1 Pitkin Court (802-223-3445) and pay the tickets, or post the same amount and contest them in court, plus the boot fee.
Does Montpelier's 1% local option tax apply when I sell my car?
No. Montpelier's 1% local option sales tax started in July 2025, and Barre City, Berlin and Waterbury have one too. But the Vermont Department of Taxes says local option tax doesn't apply to vehicles that fall under the motor vehicle purchase and use tax.
What does it cost to get a car back after a Barre winter-ban tow?
$188 in the city's posted fees for fiscal 2025-26 (a $150 tow plus a $38 ticket), in cash or money order only. Barre tows registered cars to its Public Safety Complex at 15 Fourth Street; unregistered or abandoned ones go straight to the tow company. You have three days to collect it from the complex before it's moved to the tow company's lot, where storage fees can add up.
Where can I check the river before leaving a car downtown?
The city's River Gauges page links the four gauges its emergency staff watch every day, including the Winooski near Green Mount Cemetery, the North Branch at the Langdon Street bridge, and the Wrightsville Detention Reservoir. The levels listed on this page show which spots go under first.
Vermont’s title, bill of sale and plate steps are on our Vermont page.