Selling a junk or unregistered car in Cicero

How Cicero writes the ticket

Section 38-117 lets the building commissioner or the police superintendent deal with an inoperable car in plain view. The ticket goes one of two ways:

• placed "on the inoperable motor vehicle if the inoperable motor vehicle is located on property that is open and accessible to the town," or
• mailed "to the registered owner" if the car is on property the town cannot get into, "in which case no entry by the town should be attempted."

A violation of Section 38-116(12) carries a fine of $100 at least and $750 at most per offense, and "each 24-hour period that a nuisance continues shall be considered a separate offense." The same section also lets the town abate a nuisance summarily.

Where a car may sit at all

Section 106-428 is stricter than most suburbs. It bars storing any car on private property that is "junked, wrecked, dismantled, or in such a state of disrepair as to be incapable of operation" unless it is enclosed. Even a working car may be kept only "upon a paved driveway, carport or within an enclosed garage." A parking pad that is not connected to a driveway is a violation in its own right.

A licensed parking lot is no refuge either. Under Section 106-297 a lot can lose its license for letting disabled, junked or abandoned cars stay "more than 24 hours."

Derelicts, tows and the sticker at release

Cicero's towing rules define a "derelict motor vehicle" as one that "lacks wheels, motor, transmission, battery or any other component part such that it is inoperable and constitutes a hazard to the public." A car like that on the public way can be towed.

Getting it back costs more than the tow. Section 94-458 says a car registered in the town, or that by law should be, "must have a valid town vehicle tag or sticker to be released." If town staff have to pull the car off a town-owned impound lot, the fee is $30.

A Cicero car with a missing title

Cook County doesn't handle titles; the Illinois Secretary of State in Springfield does. When yours has been lost, stolen or mutilated, the owner files form VSD 190 and ticks the Duplicate Title box, paying $50. The state turns down requests made less than 15 days after an original or 30 days after a previous duplicate. And if an out-of-state buyer already took the car without a title, that buyer cannot request one; only the Illinois owner can. More in junk car with no title.

Once the title is back, complete the Assignment of Title and hang on to the plates, since Illinois forbids the buyer from driving on yours. Then send the stub from the title's bottom edge, or form VSD 703, off to Springfield promptly so you stop being answerable for the car.

Nearby

Berwyn is 1.6 miles from Cicero as the crow flies, Oak Park 3.3, Chicago 3.9, and Maywood 5.0. State rules are on the Illinois page.

Getting an offer

Contact us at (877) 421-6008 or online with the car's age, make, model, whether the engine catches, and how the title reads. Mention any Cicero ticket, whether tucked under a wiper or sent by mail. Our truck works from a paved driveway, an alley garage, or a curbside spot by Morton East.