When a car quits on a Midlothian street late at night, the clock starts right away. Section 10-15-5 of the village code bars parking on any street for more than 30 minutes between 2 and 5 a.m., and the only exception is for doctors answering emergency calls. So the first job is getting the car onto a driveway. The second is deciding whether it’s worth fixing. If it isn’t, Junk My Car Inc will buy it from wherever it ended up.
The two-day limit off the street
Getting it home doesn’t settle things for long. Under Section 4-18-22(B)(7), an inoperable vehicle can stay in a residential district for no more than two days unless it’s kept in a garage or another fully enclosed structure, and it can’t be kept in a front, side or rear yard at all. Section 10-15-24 adds that nothing may park on a lawn, grass or front-yard area unless the village has approved it for parking; an ordinary paved driveway is fine.
Put simply, a dead car on the driveway buys you a weekend, and a dead car on the grass is already out of line. If the garage is full, ask for your offer and we’ll call back within 15 minutes.
A “For Sale” sign won’t help either. Section 10-15-4 bans parking a car with a for-sale sign anywhere in the village other than on a car dealer’s lot, so selling privately from the curb isn’t an option here. That’s a big part of why people look for junk car buyers in Midlothian rather than a private sale.
Snow and alley rules
Once snow on a village street goes past 2 inches, Section 10-15-12 bans parking on every street until removal is done, and it expects a car that’s already parked to be moved before the depth gets there. A car that won’t start can’t follow that rule, so a non-runner should be off the street before winter weather is forecast. Alleys are no better for storage: Section 10-15-6 says a car in an alley has to leave 10 feet clear and keep driveways open. The code also has a separate section, 10-15-18, on repairing vehicles in the street.
Where water collects after a storm
Midlothian’s 2019 Stormwater Management Capital Plan studied flood problem areas in Jolly Homes, the Belly Button Hill neighborhood along 151st Street, Bremen Heights around Kenneth Avenue and the Natalie Creek corridor. The plan points to channelized creeks and paved-over wetlands, with runoff sitting in low spots until the storm sewers catch up. If your car has been through high water there, it’s still a car we buy. Tell us about the flooding on the call, and read our notes on selling a storm-damaged car before you talk to your insurer.
Finding the car: Cicero, 147th and the Tri-State
Cicero Avenue (Route 50) runs through Midlothian, and 147th Street carries Route 83, which shares Cicero for a stretch. The Tri-State Tollway crosses the village, and Pulaski Road, Kedzie Avenue and the Midlothian Turnpike fill in the rest. Village hall, at 148th Street and Pulaski, is an easy reference point, and the Metra Rock Island line stops at Midlothian station.
About three in four homes here are detached houses, and roughly a fifth sit in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020 to 2024). Most pickups are from driveways, but apartment lots are common enough; get the manager’s OK first and tell us the building.
Midlothian shares borders with Crestwood on the north side and Oak Forest to the southwest, and we also buy junk cars in Crestwood and Oak Forest. To the northeast and east, we collect in Blue Island and Dixmoor. Further afield, check the areas page.