Selling a dead or junk car in Buffalo Grove

The curb is off-limits every night

Snow aside, section BG-11-1308 bans parking on any village street from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., every day of the year. The Chief of Police can issue permits for emergencies or special conditions, but a car that simply stopped running is not likely to be one. So a breakdown on your own street still needs to be off the pavement by 2 a.m.

What the village code says about broken vehicles

The passages we found deal with recreational vehicles, not cars. Under section 17.36.030, an RV, trailer or boat that is "being repaired, in an inoperative condition, or not licensed" may sit outside "no more than forty-eight hours," and otherwise must be in an enclosed garage. The same section limits residential parking spaces to the passenger cars of people who live there and their guests.

Those excerpts had no junk-car rule for regular cars. What comes next relies on Illinois law, and Buffalo Grove could add rules too. Under 65 ILCS 5/11-40-3, an Illinois town may pass an ordinance naming visible inoperable cars a nuisance, and police may haul one off 7 days after notice. That law calls a car inoperable after 7 days or more with its engine, wheels or other parts off, or with damage that keeps it from moving by itself. Cars just waiting on normal repairs don't count.

Lake County, Cook County, same state title

Buffalo Grove straddles Lake and Cook counties. Each sits inside the Illinois emissions-test area, but titles come from neither one. Buffalo Grove owners get them from the Illinois Secretary of State, through Springfield by mail or at one of its facilities. A seller's job is short:

1. On the title, sign and date the Assignment of Title and write in the miles. Illinois does not ask sellers for a notary.
2. Remove the plates. They are yours, and the buyer may not drive on them.
3. Write down where the buyer lives and their name. Make a bill of sale listing the day and the amount paid.
4. Right away, send Springfield the Seller's Report of Sale (VSD 703) or the stub off the title's bottom edge.

For a car that is only scrap, Illinois uses a junking certificate. An owner gets 15 days to apply. With no lienholder, the title stays with the owner, and anyone can receive the certificate. A Buffalo Grove licensed junk vehicle doesn't have to wait for its certificate. It can ride a junking manifest to a scrap processor. See car doesn't run or, for a pickup or SUV, junk truck.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online. Buffalo Grove sellers get the details to us through our short form. We can load it at home, in an office lot along Lake Cook Road, or at a shop. Nearby: Wheeling, Arlington Heights, Palatine, and Illinois for statewide rules.