Decatur junk cars: Illinois rules and a whole-car sale

The power the state hands Decatur

Illinois leaves the choice to each city. Under 65 ILCS 5/11-40-3, Decatur could adopt an ordinance calling an "inoperable" car in public view a nuisance, setting fines, and letting police tow it a week after notice. Whether Decatur has done that, and on what terms, is a question for City Hall.

The statute's yardstick is simple. In Decatur that means 7 days or more (or a longer local ordinance period) with the engine, wheels or other parts gone, or with damage that keeps it from driving itself. A car laid up for a routine fix falls outside it.

Abandoned on a neighbor's lot

625 ILCS 5/4-201 lets police tow a car left in public view on someone else's private land after 7 days or more. The car's age then decides what happens next.

• Seven model years old or younger: unclaimed 30 days after notice, it is sold at a public auction. Bidding is open only to rebuilders, parts recyclers, scrap processors or the tow company.
• Older: For at least 10 days, Decatur police hold it and look for the owner. Then it can be released as junk or salvage.

Getting the car sold before any of that starts keeps the decision yours. Our guide on a notice to remove a car covers what to do if a notice has already arrived.

Paperwork for a Macon County seller

Macon County's courthouse plays no part in car titles. They come from the Secretary of State, by mail in Springfield, 38 miles from Decatur in a straight line, or at its walk-in facilities.

The seller's part is short. Fill in the Assignment of Title for your buyer, sign and date it, record the odometer, and print your name beside your signature. We found no notary step in the state's list for sellers. Add a handwritten bill of sale that gives the day, the amount and the buyer's address. Then it's on the buyer, who has 20 days to retitle the car and pays a $165 fee.

Plates off, report mailed

Decatur sellers take their own plates. Illinois treats them as the seller's property, and a buyer cannot legally drive on them. The title has a Notice of Sale at its foot. Fill it out, or use the Seller's Report of Sale (VSD 703) if your title lacks one, and mail it to Springfield. The form's word for when is "immediately." It stops your liability, and ownership changes only when the buyer files. After you sell lists the rest.

Lost title, or a hopeless car

Decatur owners who lost a title file VSD 190, tick the Duplicate Title box, and pay $50. Springfield refuses a copy within 15 days of an original. See junk car with no title.

For a car that is scrap and nothing else, Illinois has the junking certificate. Once one is issued, the car is never titled again, and the certificate can be passed to any buyer. Macon County also sits outside every Illinois emissions test area, so a lit check engine lamp changes nothing about the sale.

Towns around Decatur

Springfield is 38.0 miles away, Champaign 39.2, Urbana 42.8 and Bloomington 42.9. The Illinois page collects the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. The form covers the details for your Decatur car. Pickup works at your curb, behind a garage near Eldorado Street, or at the shop that gave up on it.