Westchester is a village of houses: about 90 percent of homes are single-unit and roughly 91 percent are owner-occupied. So a dead car here usually sits in a driveway or a garage, and the question owners actually face is what the village allows them to keep there. Junk My Car Inc buys the car either way. The rules below explain why most people here decide to sell sooner rather than later.
The garage rule
Chapter 7.60 of the village code covers abandoned and junk vehicles. A “junk vehicle” is one that’s wrecked, dismantled, burned or inoperative, or has had parts removed for seven days or more. In a residential district it has to be kept in a garage. Out in public view, on public or private property, it counts as a nuisance.
If the village sends a notice of violation, police or a tow service can remove the car seven days later. Garaged vehicles, operable antiques and wrecking businesses that hold a license are the exceptions.
So the choice is simple, if not always convenient. Either the dead car takes a garage stall, or it goes. When it goes to us, the tow is free and you’re paid when the car is loaded. Request an offer here and say whether the car is in the garage or on the driveway apron.
Winter: the odd and even sides
From December 1 to March 31, a 2-inch snowfall puts Westchester on alternating sides until the snow is removed. Odd-numbered sides, meaning the south side of east-west streets and the east side of north-south streets, are barred on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Even sides are barred the other days. Designated snow emergency routes, Westchester Boulevard and Mayfair Avenue among them, clear completely after 2 inches.
A car that won’t start in January is a car that can’t be moved to the right side of the street. Selling it before the first heavy snow saves a ticket and possibly a tow.
Finding your street
Cermak Road and Roosevelt Road are the two big east-west roads through the village. La Grange Road turns into Mannheim Road at Cermak, and the Eisenhower meets that route inside Westchester. The Westbrook Corporate Center’s office towers stand at Wolf Road and Cermak. The DuPage County line forms the western border, and Cermak becomes 22nd Street where it crosses into Oak Brook. Alleys near Mannheim Road and Cermak Road are no-parking at all times, and in any other alley a parked car must leave 10 feet clear, so mention it if the car sits behind the house.
Neighbours
To the northeast, Maywood sets its parking rules street by street; our Maywood page lists them. Head south down La Grange Road for La Grange pickups, or southwest for junk car buying in Western Springs. Just over the county line to the west, we also buy junk cars in Oak Brook. If you’re still weighing whether to sell, scrap or hold on to the car, read what to do with a junk car. Every other town sits on our pickup map.