Sell your car in Richmond: running, high-mileage or broken down
Describe your car online and an instant offer comes back. Take it, and pickup is free wherever the car sits in Richmond, on either side of the James. The date matters here: it sets how much city car tax and license fee comes back to you.
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Why the pickup date changes what Richmond refunds
- 1. Get the number. Describe the car; the offer doesn't need a fresh inspection sticker or an emissions certificate. Flag a loan when you ask: it's paid off in the sale, you cover any gap above the offer, and the title is sorted before pickup day (selling with a loan).
- 2. Pick the day. Richmond relieves car tax you've already paid for the months after a sale, and it counts a month only when the car was here for at least half of it (City Code 26-459). Sell by June 30 without buying another car and half the license fee comes back; after June 30, none does (26-889).
- 3. Collect it. Ask the Department of Finance through RVA311, (804) 646-7000, for a refund or a credit against other city tax; refunds under $5 go out only on request. Unpaid city car tax is reported to DMV, which can withhold your registrations.
Where we pick up around Richmond
Pickup is free on both sides of the James, from downtown (23219) and Church Hill to the Fan and the Southside. Outside the city it reaches Tuckahoe, Glen Allen and Short Pump (23233); Bon Air, Midlothian (23112) and Chester across the river in Chesterfield County; and Mechanicsville and Ashland. If the car isn't at your door, give us the address where it sits.
The DMV office in the city. Richmond Central, the DMV customer service center at 2300 West Broad Street, is open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m. to noon. Book ahead or walk in; it also offers full-service E-ZPass account management.
Keeping a car you are selling legal on a Richmond street
Time limits on city streets run from 15 minutes to 3 hours, and nudging the car along doesn't reset them: it has to move at least 500 feet, or it's a $30 ticket. Some blocks bar parking on weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. even where a meter stands, for a $65 fine.
If the car won't start, don't leave it at the curb. Leaving an inoperable vehicle unattended on a street, alley or other public property for more than 48 hours is a Class 1 misdemeanor under City Code 27-329.
Cash for your car in Richmond
Richmond's code calls a car inoperable if it doesn't run, or if it shows neither valid plates nor a valid inspection decal (27-327). Keeping one on residential or commercial property is a Class 1 misdemeanor unless it's in a fully enclosed building or screened from view (27-328). The city can also give notice that it will have the car removed unless it goes into a fully enclosed building or leaves within 48 hours (27-330). Kept in the city with no current plates, its owner also owes a $100 yearly license tax, unless it's regularly stored inside a structure (27-105).
A car in that shape can still be sold for cash in Richmond: describe it as it is, and an expired inspection sticker doesn't affect the offer. If it's only fit for scrap, our junk car page explains how that sale works. Until it goes, you can ask the city to reassess it for body damage or a mechanical failure, on a form signed by you, a repair person or estimator, and a notary.
Engine seized or transmission slipping? Our guides to selling a car with engine problems and selling a car with a bad transmission help you decide whether the repair is worth doing, and for body damage from a crash, read selling a car after an accident.
What Richmond charges on a car
- •Vehicle personal property tax is $3.70 per $100 of assessed value for cars and trucks under 10,000 lbs, due each June 5; paying late adds 2% or $10, whichever is more (Department of Finance)
- •The city vehicle license fee is $40.74 a year for a car of 4,000 lbs or less and $45.74 above that (City Code 26-977)
Asked by Richmond sellers
Is my car's trade-in value in Richmond the number the city taxes?
It's a guide figure, not a dealer's quote. The Department of Finance assesses passenger vehicles on the "Clean Trade-In Value" in a recognized used car pricing guide as of January 1, and a high-mileage car can ask for a lower figure. A dealer's actual trade-in quote is another number to set beside our offer, which draws on national pricing; trading in versus selling walks through the choice.
The car has unpaid Richmond parking tickets. What should I do before pickup?
Pay them. City fines grow by $10 at 15 and 30 days until they double, and three or more unpaid can get the car booted, with a $60 boot fee. Pay online, or in person weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at City Hall (900 E. Broad St., Room 102), the East District Initiative (701 N. 25th St.) or the Southside Community Services Center (4100 Hull St.).
Is there a monitored spot in Richmond to meet a private buyer?
The Richmond City Sheriff's Office runs one, its Safe Exchange Zone: two well-lit parking spaces in front of the Richmond City Justice Center, 1701 Fairfield Way, recorded on video 24 hours a day. It suggests weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Sheriff's Office business hours.
The Powhite Parkway went cashless. What happens to my E-ZPass when I sell?
Since February 28, 2026, the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority has used all-electronic tolling on the Powhite Parkway, Downtown Expressway and Boulevard Bridge. Without an E-ZPass, a camera reads the plate and the bill goes to the registered owner. E-ZPass Virginia asks you to update your account when vehicles or plates change, and the transponder can move to your next car.
Title signing, plates, the DMV sold-vehicle notice and inspections follow statewide rules, covered on our Virginia page.