How to get rid of a junk car: the ways that work in the suburbs

A car that stops running doesn’t stop costing you. It takes a parking space, it may still carry insurance and registration fees, and in a lot of Chicago suburbs it breaks a village rule within days. The question is which way out fits your situation. The step-by-step version of selling is in our guide on how a junk car sale works; this page is about choosing the route in the first place.

What keeping a dead car really costs

Start with the rules, because they surprise people. Many of the villages around Chicago don’t let an inoperable car sit outdoors for long. Homer Glen bans storing one outside in residential districts. Lemont calls one in public view a nuisance after seven days. Palos Heights wants it in a garage, Hickory Hills allows it only inside an enclosed garage, Park Forest requires it out of public view, Homewood can order it into a closed garage after written notice, and in University Park a written notice on private property means the car has to go right away. Each town’s details are on its own page: Homer Glen, Lemont, Palos Heights, Hickory Hills, Park Forest, Homewood and University Park.

Then the money. If the car is still insured and registered, you’re paying to keep something you don’t use. If it isn’t, you may face a different set of problems, because several towns treat an unregistered car on a street or in view as a violation of its own.

And the space. A dead car in the garage pushes a working car onto the street, which in towns with overnight bans is its own headache.

The routes, compared

Route	Who moves the car	Papers you’ll need	How fast	What you get
Sell to a buyer who tows (like us)	The buyer, free	Title, or the papers your state accepts	Often the same day	Paid at pickup
Take it to a scrap yard	You arrange and pay for the tow	Title or the state’s substitute	As fast as you can book a tow	Scrap price, minus your transport cost
Sell to a salvage or parts yard	Varies; ask	Title or the state’s substitute	Varies	Depends on the parts they want
Private sale	The buyer, once they’ve paid	The title, signed over	Days to weeks	Often more money, if the car still runs
Donate to a charity	Usually the charity’s tow	The title	Days to weeks	A possible tax deduction instead of money

Scrapping it yourself

Some owners call a scrap yard, get a per-ton figure and then work out how to get the car there. If it doesn’t run, that means paying for a tow, and the tow can eat a good part of what the yard pays. You’ll also need to meet the yard’s paperwork rules, which follow the same state requirements as anyone else. It works best when you already have a way to move the car.

Salvage and parts yards

Salvage yards make their money on used parts, so their interest depends on the make, model and what’s still on the car. Some buy whole cars and some don’t. Expect to call around, and expect the same paperwork questions.

Selling it privately

If the car runs, or a hobbyist wants it as a project, a private sale can bring the most money. The trade-off is time: listings, messages, viewings and buyers who don’t show up. The buyer will need the title to register the car, so a private sale without one is hard.

Donating it

Charities that take cars usually arrange the tow, and you may get a tax deduction instead of cash. Read the rules first. If the charity sells your car, the deduction is generally limited to what the charity received, with a special rule for cars that sell for $500 or less; the IRS sets this out in Publication 4303.

When the car isn’t simply yours to sell

Every route above assumes the car is yours and the papers are in your hands. Some cars arrive by another path. If someone left a car on your property, you can’t sell or scrap it, but Illinois gives you ways to have it removed. If a relative who owned the car has died, someone has to gain the right to sign for it first. And if you’re leaving the area, weigh shipping the old car against selling it here before the movers book a date.

When keeping it makes sense

Sometimes keeping it is right. If it’s a project you’ll actually work on, you have an enclosed garage to keep it in, and your village allows it there, there’s no rush. The same goes for a car with sentimental value, if you have the space. Just be honest with yourself about the “actually work on” part.

If it’s going, a free tow and payment at pickup is the least work. Ask us for an offer, and if storm damage is what put it out of action, read our storm-damaged car guide first, since insurance comes before anything else. Curious where the car ends up? Our guide to recycled car parts follows it. Junk My Car Inc buys junk cars across Chicago, from Oak Park and the Palos towns to the I-55 suburbs and Park Forest.