How selling a car to Sell My Car SoCali begins
- Describe the carUse the form on the request page to give the year, make, model and mileage, whether it runs, and what the title shows. Or call (657) 699-0008.
- Talk with a personOnce your request is in, a person from Sell My Car SoCali calls the number you left.
- Finish the California seller paperworkGet a passing smog certificate before the sale when one is due (smog check), sign the title over (seller paperwork) and report the sale to the DMV within 5 days (release of liability).
Say so in the request if the car sits dead on a City of San Diego curb, the title is lost, or a lender is still printed on it.
Source: DMV: title transfers; BAR: Smog Check.
Papers and details to gather before the sale
- The California Certificate of Title. The DMV wants the signatures of the seller, the buyer and any lienholder. If the title is missing, a REG 227 comes first, and with a lienholder its section 5 must be notarized; see title problems.
- A REG 262 if the car was sold more than once on the same title, or if a REG 227 replaces the title and an odometer disclosure is required. The DMV needs one from each seller. Its forms list offers no PDF of it; call the DMV automated line, 1-800-777-0133, to have one mailed.
- A smog certificate for most cars more than four model years old.
- What the release of liability asks for: the new owner's name and address, the plate number, the VIN's last five digits and the mileage at the sale.
Source: DMV: title transfers; DMV: changing ownership; DMV: release of liability.
Three California rules San Diego County sellers often miss
- The DMV has to hear from you within 5 calendar days. California law sets that limit, counted from the day you sell the car or transfer your interest in it. File online and print the confirmation, or mail a REG 138. Once the DMV has it, parking and traffic violations after the date of sale fall to the buyer. See release of liability.
- The smog certificate is the seller's job. BAR requires the test before a sale in every Smog Check program area, and a pass is valid for 90 days. Gas, hybrid and alternative-fuel cars four model years old and newer skip it; the new owner pays the DMV an $8 smog transfer fee instead (as of November 8, 2026). See smog check.
- Standard plates go with the car; special ones stay with you. The DMV says "Disabled person, special interest, or personalized license plates belong to the plate owner, not the vehicle." Unbolt those first; after you sell covers the rest.
Source: DMV: release of liability; BAR: Smog Check; BAR reference guide; DMV: fees; DMV: changing ownership.
Use tax follows the buyer's address, not yours
On a private sale the buyer pays use tax to the DMV at registration, at the rate for the address where the car will be registered. The same car can carry 7.750% or 8.750%, depending only on where the buyer registers it.
See what a buyer pays at the DMV →Where Sell My Car SoCali buys cars, area by area
All of San Diego County, which the County counts as 18 incorporated cities plus every unincorporated area, and southwest Riverside County from Perris south.
- The City of San Diego. "San Diego has 49 community plans, which cover 52 community planning areas." La Jolla, Pacific Beach, North Park, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro are among them: neighborhoods of the city, not cities.
- North County. Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar on the coast; Vista, San Marcos, Escondido and Poway inland; unincorporated Fallbrook, Bonsall, Valley Center and Rancho Santa Fe.
- East County. El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee and Lemon Grove, with unincorporated Lakeside, Spring Valley, Casa De Oro, Rancho San Diego and Alpine.
- South Bay. Chula Vista, National City and Imperial Beach, unincorporated Bonita, and Coronado across the bay.
- The back country. Ramona, Jamul, Julian, Pine Valley, Campo, Warner Springs and Borrego Springs, all unincorporated and governed by the County of San Diego.
- Southwest Riverside County. Perris, Menifee, Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Murrieta and Temecula, each a city on the County of Riverside's list.
Areas served covers each place in turn.
Source: County: areas served; County: unincorporated areas; City: community plans; Riverside County: cities.
Questions San Diego County sellers ask
Does Sell My Car SoCali buy cars outside the City of San Diego?
Yes: anywhere in San Diego County, in all 18 cities and the unincorporated communities, and in southwest Riverside County from Perris down to Temecula. The County lists the cities on its areas served page; see areas served.
Who pays use tax when a car is sold privately?
The buyer, when registering the car with the DMV, at the rate for the address where it will be registered. On the CDTFA table effective October 1, 2026, that is 7.750% for the City of San Diego, 8.250% for Oceanside and 8.750% for Temecula. Sources: CDTFA: vehicles, CDTFA: tax rates.
My car will not run and sits on a City of San Diego street. What rule applies?
The tighter one. San Diego Municipal Code 86.0137 counts a car that cannot be legally driven as inoperable and allows an inoperable vehicle no more than four consecutive hours on a City street. Any vehicle, running or not, also has to move at least 1/10th of a mile within 72 hours. See SDMC 86.0137 (7-2025 edition), SDPD: abandoned vehicles and junk cars.
The City of San Diego towed my car. How do I find it?
Search AutoReturn online (City of San Diego tows only) or call AutoReturn at 619-527-4392. If it has no record, call the SDPD non-emergency line at 619-531-2000. Details: SDPD: vehicle impounds and towing and towed or impounded.
Talk to Sell My Car SoCali about your car
Call (657) 699-0008 to reach a person, or fill in the request form and a person calls you back. Stuck on the title or the car's condition? Start with title problems or selling a car in any condition.
Everything else about a car in San Diego
Each one answers a single question for San Diego sellers, from official sources.
- PaperworkEvery paper in a San Diego County car sale: the California title lines you sign, REG 227 and REG 262, the REG 135 bill of sale, and the DMV offices that do transfers.
- Smog checkWho gets the smog test when you sell a car in San Diego County, how long the 90-day pass lasts, which sales skip it, and what to do with a car that failed.
- Release of liabilityThe 5-day NRL or REG 138 a San Diego County seller files with the DMV: what it covers, what to keep, and how to answer a later ticket, tow or toll notice.
- Junk carHow to junk or sell a dead car in San Diego County: DMV junk status, the City's 72-hour and 4-hour street limits, and county yard rules.
- Title problemsLost pink slip, a loan still on it, an owner who died, or two names joined by AND: the California forms that clear each title problem before a San Diego sale.
- Any conditionSelling a car in San Diego County that will not start, flooded, burned, lost its catalytic converter or shows high miles: what to disclose, smog, and where it can wait.
- Areas servedEvery San Diego County city and community, plus Perris to Temecula, with the DMV office, the agency that releases a towed car and the buyer's tax rate for each.
- Towed or impoundedWho releases a towed or impounded car in San Diego County, what the City of San Diego, the Port, Escondido and La Mesa charge, 30-day holds, and lien sales.
- After you sellWhat a San Diego County seller still handles after the handover: the 5-day DMV report, plates, insurance, FasTrak on SR-125 and I-15, and late tickets.
- Where to sellPrivate buyer, dealer trade-in, licensed dismantler or a request to Sell My Car SoCali: the California duties on each, and the use tax by San Diego County city.
- Selling privatelyHow San Diego County sellers spot fake cashier's checks and payment-app scams, pick a lighted public meeting spot and hand over the title in a safe order.
- Car retirementHow California's CAP pays $1,350 to $2,000 to retire a car that still drives, what BAR checks, the Chula Vista dismantler, and how San Diego owners weigh a sale.
- Salvage & rebuiltHow a totaled or salvage-title car is sold in San Diego County: the Salvaged brand, REG 488C within 10 days, nonrepairable limits and revival inspections.