The Mojave Desert Old Car Buy Back and Scrap Program will pay $1,000 for a qualified operating and registered 2000 or older vehicle. The Old Car Buy Back and Scrap Program is sponsored by the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District. This Voluntary Accelerated Vehicle Retirement (VAVR) Program is not operated by the State of California. Your participation is entirely voluntary. Incentives will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until the available funds are exhausted. Purchased vehicles will be dismantled.
For your vehicle to be eligible and to qualify for the Old Car Buy Back and Scrap Program, it must meet the Vehicle Status and Qualification Requirements and the Vehicle Functional and Equipment Eligibility Inspection described below.
If you think that your vehicle qualifies, please call the phone number listed below to find more about the process and schedule an appointment to sell your vehicle to the Program. We will verify your vehicle’s eligibility and provide you with the specific locations of our sites.
Vehicle Status and Qualification Requirements:
Your vehicle must meet the following partial requirements when it is driven to the vehicle dismantler:
- The vehicle must be a 2000 or older passenger car or a light duty pickup truck that includes, but is not limited to, a pick-up truck, sports utility vehicle (SUV), or van up to 8,500 pounds gross vehicular weight rating.
- The vehicle must be currently registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as an operable vehicle and shall have been so registered for at least twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the final date of sale to the Old Car Buy Back Program, to an address or addresses within the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District jurisdiction. Smog Checks must be performed as required by the DMV in order for the vehicle to be considered registered.
A vehicle may also be eligible if the owner of the vehicle placed the vehicle in planned non-operational status per Vehicle Code Section 4604, et seq., for a total of (2) or fewer months during the continuous twenty-four (24) months registration period and occurring at least three (3) months prior to the date of sale to the Old Car Buy Back and Scrap Program.
A vehicle may also be eligible if the registration has lapsed for less than one-hundred-and-eighty-one (181) days during the previous twenty-four (24) months and all appropriate registration fees and late penalties have been paid to the DMV, provided that the vehicle is registered for at least ninety (90) days immediately prior to its date of sale to the Old Car Buy Back and Scrap Program.
Additionally, the vehicle must have a clear California title with no liens.
- The vehicle must be driven to the vehicle dismantler site under its own power.
- The vehicle cannot be operating under a Smog Check repair cost waiver or economic hardship extension.
- A vehicle must pass the most recent biennial Smog Checks required by California DMV in order to be considered eligible for participation in the Old Car Buy Back and Scrap Program.
- If a vehicle is within sixty-one to ninety (61-90) days of its next required Smog Check Inspection, the vehicle is not required to have a Smog Check Inspection. But, if the Smog Check Inspection is performed in this sixty-one to ninety (61-90) day time frame, the vehicle must pass the inspection.
- If a vehicle is within sixty (60) days of its next required Smog Check Inspection, the vehicle must take and pass the Smog Check Inspection without receiving a repair cost waiver or economic hardship extension. Owners of vehicles requiring Smog Check Inspections will be required to submit documentation issued by a licensed Smog Check station demonstrating compliance with this requirement. The documentation must be submitted to the vehicle dismantler performing the functional and equipment eligibility inspection.
- Determination of an individual vehicle's registration history shall be based on registration data for that vehicle, obtained from DMV records. If DMV registration data provide inconclusive results for an individual vehicle, then copies of the applicable vehicle registration certificate may be used.
Vehicle Functional and Equipment Eligibility Inspection:
The vehicle dismantler will only purchase your vehicle for the Old Car Buy Back and Scrap Program if it meets the Voluntary Accelerated Vehicle Retirement (VAVR) Program Guidelines. The following is a PARTIAL list.
- The vehicle must have been driven to the dismantler site under its own power.
- The vehicle can not be tampered with.
- The vehicle dismantler will inspect the vehicle to ensure it meets the requirements of the program and must reject the vehicle if the vehicle fails.
- The vehicle dismantler will complete the following functional inspection, and shall reject the vehicle if the vehicle fails to complete the following test:
Insert key, vehicle engine must start using keyed ignition system. In addition to the keyed ignition switch, ignition or fuel kill switch may be activated if required to start engine. The vehicle must start readily through ordinary means without the use of starting fluids or external booster batteries. The vehicle shall be driven forward for a minimum of 25 feet under its own power. The vehicle shall be driven in reverse for a minimum of 25 feet under its own power.
Upon satisfactory completion of the inspection, the vehicle dismantler will issue a certificate of functional and equipment eligibility.
How to Get Started, Who to Call, and Where to Fax Your Information
To see if your vehicle may be eligible for the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District Old Car Buy Back and Scrap Program and to find more about the process, program availability, locations, specific and complete qualification and eligibility criteria, and to participate in the Voluntary Accelerated Vehicle Retirement (VAVR) Program, please contact Environmental Engineering Studies, Inc. at 1-800-717-7624.
