Selling a dead or junk car in Des Plaines

Three Des Plaines rules that reach a parked car

1. The nuisance list, 5-3-1. The 48-hour limit above, on public or private land in public view.
2. The property maintenance code, 10-9-2. The city amended the International Property Maintenance Code so that "no inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicle, boat, trailer, or recreational vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises," and no vehicle may be "in the process of being stripped or dismantled." Kept vehicles go inside a structure or on approved off-street parking, never "on grass, dirt, parkways, or other similar natural surfaces." Each day after notice is served counts as a separate offense.
3. The abandoned-vehicle definition, 7-8-1. A car that cannot be driven, or one that "has not been moved or used for seven (7) consecutive days or more and has no current license or city sticker."

That third test is why the city sticker matters here. A car with no current plates and no sticker that sits for a week meets the definition even if the engine still turns over.

How a tow unfolds

Section 7-8-3 lets the city tow an abandoned car at the owner's expense. First comes a pretow warning notice with the car's description, plate and VIN, plus word that a hearing is available on request. "If, after ten (10) days, there has been no response to the pretow warning notice, the vehicle may be towed." Then, within ten days of the Des Plaines tow, the owner and any lienholder get a posttow notice by certified and first class mail. Some cars are towed without warning, such as one with its plates and VIN removed or one blocking traffic.

Then Section 7-8-4 takes over. A car left unclaimed for thirty (30) days after it was delivered to the police, with notices given, goes to public auction. One still unsold after sixty (60) days may be handed to a city department or destroyed. Before the auction, the owner can claim it with a written application to the police chief. See towed or impounded for the choices.

Illinois paperwork for a Des Plaines sale

Titles here are a state matter. In Des Plaines, these come from the Vehicle Services Department of the Illinois Secretary of State. Des Plaines owners apply at a state facility or by mail to Springfield. Your part as the seller is short: sign over the title in the Assignment of Title area, get the buyer's name and address, take off your plates, and send in the Notice of Sale. For Des Plaines sellers, VSD 703 or the title's bottom stub sets no day count, only the word "immediately."

If the title is missing, only the Illinois owner can apply for a duplicate, even when the buyer lives in another state. File form VSD 190 and pay $50. A Des Plaines owner can get one 15 days after an original title was issued, or 30 days after an earlier duplicate. Selling with no title walks through it.

Nearby

Mount Prospect is 2.8 miles from Des Plaines in a straight line, and Park Ridge 3.3. Niles is 4.7. More rules for the whole state are on Illinois.

Getting an offer

Des Plaines sellers can go online or call (877) 421-6008. Pickup works from a paved driveway, a garage, or the curb by a shop.