Freeport dead cars and the seven-day rule

Seven days, four ways

Chapter 638 uses one number, seven days, and applies it four ways. Freeport counts a car once, for that long, it:

• has parts pulled or damaged so it is "incapable of being driven under its own motor power or operated on a public roadway"
• leaves loose engines, wheels or other car parts lying on any property
• stays parked while "not currently registered" with any state's or nation's motor vehicle agency
• is "abandoned" in Freeport, on public land or on private land that the car's owner neither owns nor lawfully occupies

Part (e) pulls in derelict semi-trailers as well.

The notice, then the tow

Section 638.04 starts with "complaint or observation." For a car without traceable plates, the notice is "affixed to the inoperable motor vehicle in a conspicuous location." Section 638.06 then allows a tow once "the seven-day period" ends, and the bill is yours: the owner "shall be financially responsible for the costs of such towing, removal and storage."

The curb has its own limits. Section 480.04 bans parking on any street "for longer than twenty-four consecutive hours," though downtown residents can buy a $10 placard to stay longer. Section 480.10 lets police tow cars left on a street during a snow emergency, and it gives an inoperable car served under that chapter a "three-day period." To get a towed car back, Freeport wants every parking fine, the towing charge and storage paid first. If that has already happened, see towed or impounded.

Freeport's share of the Illinois paperwork

Stephenson County does not print titles. Springfield does, through the Secretary of State. A Freeport seller has four tasks:

1. Sign and date the Assignment of Title over to the buyer.
2. Keep the plates, which Illinois says belong to you.
3. A short Freeport bill of sale listing the price and the date of sale will do.
4. Freeport sellers send in a VSD 703, or the Notice of Sale off the title's bottom, "immediately."

Nowhere in the state's list for sellers is a notary mentioned. A missing title costs $50 to replace. In Illinois anyone may accept a junking certificate, so a car good only for scrap can be sold on one. Read after you sell for the final steps.

Nearby

Rockford is 29.3 miles off, Machesney Park 31.6, Loves Park 32.7 and Belvidere 38.2. Statewide notes are on Illinois.

Getting an offer

Freeport sellers can dial (877) 421-6008 or start with the form. Pickup can be at home, on a side street near the Lincoln-Douglas memorial, or at a Stephenson County garage that ran out of ideas.