Sell your car in Chesapeake: running, inoperable or half taken apart
Chesapeake prorates car tax by the month, so a mid-year sale can earn a credit or refund, and the city wants DMV and the Commissioner of the Revenue told right away, by you rather than the buyer. Request a cash offer from our buying partner online, and a free pickup is set for wherever the car is parked in the city.
Prefer a callback? Leave your number ↓
Offers powered by our buying partner — ★ 4.7 Trustpilot (205,000+ reviews) · ★ 4.5 Google (8,900+)
Taking a sold car off your Chesapeake tax bill
- Tell DMV and the Commissioner of the Revenue. When you sell or dispose of a vehicle, the city says both must be notified immediately (City of Chesapeake).
- Expect a monthly proration. Chesapeake prorates personal property taxes on motor vehicles on a monthly basis, so a car sold partway through the year can earn a credit or refund (Personal Property Taxes).
Where we pick up around Chesapeake
Pickup is free anywhere in the City of Chesapeake. Whether the car is in a driveway, out back in the yard or sitting with its engine on a stand in the garage, tell us how a truck reaches it when you book.
Pull the E-ZPass before pickup. If you drive the Downtown or Midtown tunnel between Portsmouth and Norfolk, keep the transponder: VDOT says E-ZPass pays the lowest toll rate there (VDOT). Need one for the next car? The Greenbrier Parkway DMV center sells standard and Flex transponders (Virginia DMV).
How Chesapeake figures the tax on a car you're selling
Chesapeake assesses vehicles at fair market value, and for automobiles that usually means the NADA official used car pricing guide (Personal Property Taxes). The Commissioner of the Revenue, at 306 Cedar Road (757-382-6455), is the office that prorates the tax on motor vehicles and trailers (Commissioner of the Revenue).
City Hall's first floor, at that same 306 Cedar Road address, also holds the city's DMV Select (Virginia DMV Select list), so a title errand and a tax question can be handled in one trip.
A sale is what moves the bill; a long stretch away doesn't. The city says a temporary absence from Chesapeake doesn't make you eligible for a prorated refund (City of Chesapeake), so a car left parked while you're gone is still taxed as usual.
Cash for your car in Chesapeake
Under Chesapeake's zoning ordinance, it's a violation to store an inoperable vehicle on property zoned or used for residential purposes unless it's inside a fully enclosed building or fully shielded from view (City of Chesapeake). The city's tests for inoperable include a vehicle that has been partly or totally disassembled for 60 days or longer (inoperable vehicles page).
Leave one in the open and the Police Department can remove it, with the cost charged to the owner of the property; the same city page lists the police Traffic Enforcement Unit at 757-382-3537 (City of Chesapeake).
A project car with the engine out, or one that hasn't started in months, can still be sold as it is, and the truck hauls it from the lot for free. The junk car page explains what a parts-and-scrap offer looks like; if you're weighing one more repair, read when to stop repairing an old car.
Chesapeake's two DMV counters
- •813 Greenbrier Parkway, Chesapeake, VA 23320-3647, is the Chesapeake DMV customer service center (Virginia DMV)
- •Greenbrier Parkway keeps weekday hours from 8:00 in the morning until 5:00, and Saturday mornings from 8:00 until noon (DMV locations)
- •Make an appointment, hold a spot in line for the day you go, or just walk in (Virginia DMV)
- •DMV Select, first floor of City Hall, 306 Cedar Road (23322), open from 8:30 in the morning to 4:30 in the afternoon, Monday through Friday (Virginia DMV Select list)
- •DMV Selects are local-government or private offices under contract with DMV for a select list of transactions, titles among them (Virginia DMV)
Asked by Chesapeake sellers
I traded my car in at a dealer. Will the dealer tell Chesapeake?
Don't count on it. The city says notifying DMV and the Commissioner of the Revenue is the owner's responsibility, not the motor vehicle dealer's or the new owner's (City of Chesapeake).
Which Chesapeake DMV office is open on Saturday?
The customer service center at 813 Greenbrier Parkway is, from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays (DMV locations). The City Hall DMV Select is a weekday office (Virginia DMV Select list).
My car broke down on city property in Chesapeake. Who handles abandoned cars there?
The city's inoperable-vehicle page sends abandoned vehicles on city property to 757-382-6161 (City of Chesapeake). If the car is yours and you'd rather sell it, ask for an offer and say exactly where it's sitting.
Does Chesapeake tax my car on the price I sold it for?
No. The city assesses vehicles at fair market value, and for cars it uses the NADA official used car pricing guide in most cases (Personal Property Taxes).
Virginia's statewide steps, from signing the title to the plates and DMV's notice of sale, are on our Virginia page. Still paying the car off? Read selling a car with a loan before you set a pickup date.