2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 42 - Vehicles and Traffic
Regulation of Vehicles and Traffic
Article 4 - Regulation of Vehicles and Traffic
Part 21 - Vehicles Abandoned on Private Property
§ 42-4-2104. Appraisal of abandoned motor vehicles - sale

(1) (a) Motor vehicles that are abandoned on private property shall be appraised and sold by the operator in a commercially reasonable manner at a public or private sale held not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days after the postmarked date the notice was mailed pursuant to section 42-4-2103 (4) or the date the operator receives notice that no record exists for such vehicle. Such sale shall be made to a licensed motor vehicle dealer or wholesaler, or wholesale motor vehicle auction dealer, or through a classified newspaper advertisement published in Colorado. For purposes of this section, a sale shall not be considered commercially reasonable if the vehicle's appraisal value is more than three hundred fifty dollars and the vehicle is sold to an officer or partner of the operator that has possession of the vehicle or to any other person with a proprietary interest in such operator.

(b) Nothing in this section shall require that an operator must be a licensed dealer pursuant to article 6 of title 12, C.R.S., for purposes of selling a motor vehicle pursuant to this part 21.

(c) Subject to section 42-4-2103 and if an operator conducts a commercially reasonable sale but fails to sell the motor vehicle, the operator may continue to collect daily storage fees for such vehicle actually accrued for up to one hundred twenty days.

(2) If the appraised value of an abandoned motor vehicle sold pursuant to this section is three hundred fifty dollars or less, the sale shall be made only for the purpose of junking, scrapping, or dismantling such motor vehicle, and the purchaser thereof shall not, under any circumstances, be entitled to a Colorado certificate of title. The operator making the sale shall cause to be executed and delivered a bill of sale, together with a copy of the report described in section 42-4-2103 (3), to the person purchasing such motor vehicle. The bill of sale shall state that the purchaser acquires no right to a certificate of title for such vehicle. The operator making the sale shall promptly submit a report of sale, with a copy of the bill of sale, to the department and shall deliver a copy of such report of sale to the purchaser of the motor vehicle. Upon receipt of any report of sale with supporting documents on any sale made pursuant to this subsection (2), the department shall purge the records for such vehicle as provided in section 42-4-2109 (1) (b) and shall not issue a new certificate of title for such vehicle. Any certificate of title issued in violation of this subsection (2) shall be void.

(3) If the appraised value of an abandoned motor vehicle sold pursuant to this section is more than three hundred fifty dollars, the sale may be made for any intended use by the purchaser. The operator making the sale shall cause to be executed and delivered a bill of sale, together with a copy of the report described in section 42-4-2103 (3), and an application for a Colorado certificate of title signed by a legally authorized representative of the operator conducting the sale, to the person purchasing such motor vehicle. The purchaser of the abandoned motor vehicle shall be entitled to a Colorado certificate of title upon application and proof of compliance with the applicable provisions of the "Certificate of Title Act", part 1 of article 6 of this title; except that, if such vehicle is less than five years old, including the current year models, and if the department does not provide the name of an owner of record to the operator, the buyer shall apply for a bonded title and the department shall issue such bonded title upon the applicant meeting the qualifications for such title pursuant to rules promulgated by the department.

(4) Transferring the title of a motor vehicle to an operator to satisfy a debt covered by a lien created pursuant to this part 21 shall not be deemed to be the sale of a motor vehicle.