Palos Park is small in people and large in land: 4,899 residents at the 2020 Census, spread over 6.57 square miles. Close to nine households in ten own their homes, and most homes are detached houses, so a dead car here is nearly always on a private driveway or in a garage rather than in a shared lot. Junk My Car Inc collects it right there. You pay nothing for the tow, the offer stays open as long as you need, and the money changes hands when the car is loaded.
Restorable, or a wreck
Palos Park handles junk cars in Section 676.09, and it splits them in two. First it defines an inoperative or junk vehicle: one with no current state or village license, or one that’s severely rusted, wrecked or dismantled. Then it asks whether the car can be saved.
- Restorable. It may stay on a residential lot, but only inside a legal garage. A driveway or a side yard doesn’t count.
- Wreck. Not economical to restore, as the police chief decides. A wreck isn’t allowed in a residential area at all.
That second category is the one that surprises people. An old project car that never got finished can end up there, and once it does, keeping it isn’t an option. That’s where we come in as junk car buyers in Palos Park: one call, a free tow and payment on the spot.
Abandoned after seven days
Chapter 470 covers abandoned vehicles. Under Section 470.01, a car counts as abandoned when it’s in disrepair and can’t be driven, or when it has stayed put for seven days or more and looks deserted. Section 470.02 then lets the police chief order one removed from private property once seven days have passed.
Thirty minutes at night, eight hours after snow
From 2 to 5 a.m., Section 480.03 limits any car to 30 minutes on a village street, with emergency vehicles the only exception. After a snowfall of 2 inches or more, Section 480.04 clears every public street for 8 hours, and the ban runs on until removal is finished. Police can also post permit-only parking areas with council approval, where residents get permits for themselves and their guests (Section 480.14). Streets such as 86th Avenue, 123rd Street, Wolf Road, US 45 and North Woodland Trail carry parking rules of their own, so tell us which one you’re on.
Getting to you, and the towns around Palos Park
Route 7 has an interchange at 123rd Street and McCarthy Road in the village. The Palos Park station is on Metra’s SouthWest Service, and Pace Route 379 runs through.
Send us the car’s details and expect a call back within 15 minutes; we buy junk cars in Palos Park with or without keys. If you can’t find the title, list the papers you do have, such as a registration, a bill of sale or an insurance card. On that call we’ll check which ones Illinois rules accept for a scrap sale, before a pickup is set. Curious what happens to a wreck after it leaves? Our list of 12 scrap car parts that get recycled explains.
Orland Park borders the village to the southwest, and we cover Orland Park as well. East is Palos Heights, north is Palos Hills, and Worth is out along Route 7 to the northeast. Everything else we cover sits on the areas page.