Junk car in DeKalb? What the city code says

The seven-day rule in Section 12.03

DeKalb's nuisance chapter lists "inoperable or abandoned automobiles" among the things that make a property a nuisance. It says "inoperable motor vehicles on public or private property, constitute a nuisance," and it lets the city have the car removed "seven (7) days from the issuance of a written notice to the person in control of an inoperable motor vehicle."

That section defines an inoperable car its own way, based on a set stretch of time with the engine, wheels or other parts off or damaged. Two cases fall outside it: a car on the premises of a business "engaged in the wrecking or junking" of cars, and a car that is down only for a short repair. Read the full text in Chapter 12 if a notice lands on your door.

Licensed yards are a different matter. The city's development ordinance lists "Junkyards, salvage yards, and vehicle wrecking yards conducted within an enclosed building" as a use, and separates "Automobile impound yards" from the storage of wrecked cars. A side yard on a residential street is not either one.

No emissions test in DeKalb County

Emissions testing in Illinois happens only around Chicago and in Metro-East St. Louis. The counties on the list are Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry, Will, Madison, St. Clair and Monroe, plus two townships in Grundy County and Oswego township in Kendall County. DeKalb County is not among them, so a car registered here does not draw the test notices sent to Elgin or Geneva.

Title and plates when you sell

Titles aren't a DeKalb County job. For DeKalb, the Illinois Secretary of State handles them, either by mail via Springfield or at one of its state facilities.

The seller's part is short. Sign and date the assignment area on the title. No notary appears in the Illinois steps a DeKalb seller follows. Both names must be printed and signed, with the odometer certified; federal and state law both ask for that. Pull your plates, because a DeKalb buyer cannot legally drive on them. A bill of sale showing when the car sold and for how much finishes it, along with a Notice of Sale mailed to Springfield the same day. That ends your responsibility, but ownership doesn't pass with it. The buyer titles the car within 20 days and pays a $165 title fee.

A car going to scrap gets a junking certificate in Illinois, not a new title. Anyone can be assigned one. With no lienholder on record, you keep the title when you get it. More on the last steps is in after you sell.

Getting an offer

Other towns we serve are far from DeKalb; Geneva, St. Charles and Elgin are all more than 21 miles off as the crow flies. That does not change anything for a sale. DeKalb sellers can phone (877) 421-6008 or fill in the short form here. Then we send a truck to it. The Illinois page has the statewide rules.