Junk Car Terms Explained: A Plain-English Glossary

• Junk car. The everyday term for a car that does not make sense to keep or fix. No form needs this phrase.
• Junk vehicle (RCW 46.55.010). A legal term in the towing chapter. A vehicle certified under RCW 46.55.230 that meets at least three of four criteria: three years or older, extensively damaged, apparently inoperable, and fair market value only of scrap.
• Junk vehicle (RCW 46.79.010). A separate definition in the hulk hauler chapter. It requires “all the following requirements”, and it adds that the vehicle has no valid, current registration plate.
• Scrap car. The everyday term for a car valued mainly for its metal. See scrap car removal.
• Salvage vehicle. DOL’s word for a car declared a total loss or destroyed. It cannot be driven or parked on public roads until a new title is issued. See salvage title explained.
• Total loss or totaled. An insurance term for a claim settled by paying for the car instead of repairing it. See what totaled means.
• Destroyed. A word that goes on the title. An owner reporting a destroyed vehicle has its title marked “DESTROYED” (RCW 46.12.600).
• Rebuilt. A salvage car repaired and retitled. See what rebuilding takes.
• Non-running. It does not run. Not a legal status. It does not stop a flatbed. See non-running car removal.
• Shell. A vehicle missing major parts. With us, an incomplete vehicle may carry a pickup fee or may be declined.

The two definitions serve different chapters. Neither one is “the” definition for every purpose.

Cities can have their own versions. Kent uses at least three of the four state criteria, and Renton adds a fifth factor about debris, flat or missing tires, missing plates and expired tabs. Always check the document in front of you, and ask which chapter it means.

• Hulk hauler. A licensed business that transports or sells vehicles to a licensed wrecker or scrap processor “in substantially the same form” as obtained. We are one. See our license page.
• Wrecker. A separately licensed business that buys, sells or deals in vehicles to wreck or dismantle them, or deals in their used parts, and must keep records of them, including a bill of sale and identity details under RCW 46.80.080.
• Scrap processor. A licensed site with a hydraulic baler and shears, or a shredder.
• Interim owner. Someone who holds the original title released by the named owner and assigned to the seller (RCW 46.80.010).
• Curbstoner. The Attorney General’s word for someone selling five or more cars in 12 months without a dealer license.

Our guide to hulk hauler vs. wrecker vs. scrap processor explains who does what.

• Abandoned. In the towing chapter, impounded and held 120 consecutive hours. It does not simply mean “left somewhere.”
• Unauthorized vehicle. A vehicle subject to removal, with timing that depends on where it is. For example, residential private property is immediate. “Residential” there means no more than four living units.
• Impound. A vehicle held by a tow company. See a car in a tow yard.
• Public nuisance. Some cities use this for a junk vehicle on a property. See code violation notices.

• Scrap value. What the metal is worth. The towing chapter’s junk test includes a car whose fair market value is only about the value of the scrap in it.
• Actual cash value. What an insurer pays a total loss on, based on comparable vehicles under WAC 284-30-391.
• Salvage value. What an insurer may deduct if you keep a totaled car.
• Offer. For us, this depends on five things: year and model, condition, demand for parts, weight and size, and towing distance. See how we work out an offer.