Selling a dead or junk car in Elmhurst

No driveway repairs in view

The same clause goes on: it is a nuisance "to dismantle, repair, paint or assemble any motor vehicle or major part thereof on any premises, unless it is done within a structure or building which shields such activity from the public view." That rules out the slow fix-it-on-weekends plan for a car parked outside. A garage with the door down is the only lawful place to work on it.

Section 12.02 also makes it a nuisance to leave "any inoperable motor vehicle or part thereof" on any roadway, alley, driveway or parking area without the owner's permission, or the Police Department's permission on public property. A dead car pushed into a neighbor's lot or a shared drive is covered.

Unpaid tickets and impounds

Elmhurst handles parking and compliance tickets through its Code Hearing Unit under section 3.22. A car can be impounded "for failure to pay fines or penalties after a final determination of liability for 10 or more" standing, parking or compliance violations. The owner's cars in the city become "subject to immobilization and/or towing and impoundment if the fines and penalties are not paid within 14 days of the date of the notice." Release requires paying the fines plus towing and "accrued daily impound charges." A car with that kind of history is often worth selling before the lot gets it; tickets or registration hold explains how fines follow a car.

Two counties, one title office system

Elmhurst sits in both DuPage and Cook counties, and both are in the Illinois emissions-test area. The title side does not change with the county line. The Illinois Secretary of State issues Elmhurst titles. You can mail in through its Springfield processing division or go to one of its facilities.

Selling in Elmhurst, you sign and date the title's Assignment of Title, enter the odometer reading for the buyer, and print your name. No notary is listed in the Secretary of State's seller steps. Take your plates off; you keep them. After the Elmhurst sale, mail your Seller's Report of Sale (VSD 703) to Springfield right away. Hold on to an Elmhurst bill of sale showing the amount paid and the date. For an Elmhurst owner, a lost title is replaced with Form VSD 190 for $50.

If an insurer totaled it

After a total-loss payment, Illinois has set rules. The insurer takes the car as salvage, unless the damage is hail only or the car is 9 model years old or older. In those cases you can keep it by agreement. A flood car is salvage only if repairs would cost more than 50% of its fair market value, and the word "flood" goes on the salvage certificate and later titles. Illinois won't register a salvage car. An Elmhurst car sold on a salvage title needs a "Disclosure of Rebuilt Vehicle" form handed to whoever buys it. Insurer totaled it has more.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, share the model, make, year and mileage, if it starts, and the location of the title. In Elmhurst we can collect the car from your home, your garage, or a repair shop. Close by: Villa Park, Lombard, Addison, and Illinois for the statewide picture.