Texas Senate passes bill to address untitled scrap vehicles

SB 2240 by Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) would establish procedures to be followed by metal recyclers, auto salvage dealers, auto parts recyclers, and salvage vehicle sellers allowing for untitled vehicles to be sold only to certain limited licensed entities, and then only for scrap or parts so that their titles are deactivated and the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) rendered useless.

Under current Texas law, a vehicle may be sold to a metal recycler, salvage vehicle dealer, or used automotive parts recycler for parts or scrap, only if the seller has a title, regardless of the age or condition of the vehicle. Many older vehicles only have a value for parts or scrap. An owner who does not have a title may not spend the time and money to obtain a duplicate title.

Many untitled vehicles end up being sold to unlicensed or unscrupulous facilities, and the vehicles "disappear." The result is that hundreds of thousands of vehicles no longer exist, but their titles remain active within the Texas DMV's database, and the VIN remains valid and may be used to conceal the identity of a stolen vehicle, known as "VIN cloning."

The Senate passed the bill on a unanimous vote, and the bill moved to the House.

Contact Jeff Huffman at 469-385-6488 or jhuffman@txcua.coop for more information.