Four in five Burbank homes are detached single-family houses, and about 81 percent of households own the place they live in. So a Burbank car that has stopped running usually sits on a driveway or in a garage, which is exactly where the city code draws its line. Junk My Car Inc buys it from wherever it sits and hauls it off for free.
Section 15-38: no inoperable cars on home lots
Section 15-38(a)(i) of Burbank’s municipal code says the record owner of residentially zoned property may not park or store any inoperable vehicle there. The rule as written sets no waiting period. A car that can’t run simply doesn’t belong on a Burbank home lot.
A second rule, section 15-3, goes further: possessing a vehicle the Secretary of State couldn’t issue plates for is a nuisance in itself. We buy junk cars in Burbank in exactly that state, without plates, without keys or without a working engine.
How Burbank decides a car is inoperable
Section 15-51 sets the definitions. For a car on private property in public view, the line is 14 days: if it can’t be driven safely or legally because parts have been taken off, it counts as an inoperable motor vehicle. And here’s a detail worth knowing: when a car hasn’t moved for 14 days and sits under a cover or tarp, or has no current city license, the code presumes it’s inoperable. Covering it up works against you.
Out on the street, the same section is far quicker. An inoperable car left on a public way for 10 hours qualifies as abandoned, as does one missing plates or a temporary placard for 2 days, or one that has stayed put for 7 straight days and looks deserted.
Side streets, Sayre Avenue and the snow routes
Burbank’s street rules leave a dead car few places to wait. Section 15-29(26) makes it unlawful to park on the roadway or easement of any side street or alley in a residential district, apart from what the zoning rules allow for off-street parking. Sayre Avenue between 79th and 81st Street is closed to parking from 2 to 7 a.m. Police can relocate a car parked illegally for 24 hours or more under 15-53.
After 2 inches of snow, posted snow routes must stay clear until the snow is fully removed, and cars left on them can be towed without notice. The routes include stretches of 75th through 78th Street and of 81st, 83rd and 85th Street. The mayor can also declare a snow emergency that adds secondary streets.
A notice on the car, and the sale instead
If police intend to remove an inoperable car from private property, section 15-54 calls for a pre-relocation notice first, and the owner has 7 days after the letter to ask for a hearing. A week leaves room to sell.
Request an offer online and expect a call back within 15 minutes. Our offer has no expiry date, the tow is free, and payment happens at pickup, by cash, Zelle, Cash App or another app. On paperwork, tell us what you have: a registration, a bill of sale, an insurance card. Which of those count for a scrap sale is set by Illinois rules, and we confirm it before booking. The steps from quote to payment are laid out in our guide to selling a junk car for cash.
Around Burbank
Burbank sits south of Midway Airport. 79th and 87th Streets cross it east to west, and Harlem, Ridgeland and Cicero Avenues run north to south, with Pace buses on several routes. Chicago’s Ashburn neighborhood lies to the east. Bedford Park borders the city on the north, where we also collect junk cars in Bedford Park, and to the west is Bridgeview. Oak Lawn runs along the south side, so see our Oak Lawn page if you’re just over that line, and Hometown touches the southeast corner: junk car buyers in Hometown. The full pickup map is on the areas page.