Selling a junk car in Kankakee

What Section 24.06 says

The chapter is a PDF on the city's site, and only pieces of it came through in the copy we read. Those pieces show two things:

• It speaks of conduct "on any automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle on any street or public" place, and of a notice sent to the "registered owner of the vehicle, stating that the vehicle is subject to immediate tow."
• It defines an "Inoperable motor vehicle" by a set period, but the day count was cut off in our copy.

We will not guess at the missing parts. A notice in hand will name the section and the deadline. Read the full chapter at the link in our sources, or ask the city, and see our guide on a notice to remove a car.

Illinois law underneath the city code

Where a city's own text leaves a gap, state statutes still apply. A city in Illinois may adopt an ordinance that treats an inoperable car seen from the street as a nuisance, with a police tow allowed 7 days after notice. Under that statute, a Kankakee car is inoperable once it has gone 7 or more days missing its engine, wheels or other parts, or is too wrecked to run under its own power. Routine repair work is exempt.

A separate statute, 625 ILCS 5/4-201, covers a car left on land that does not belong to its owner. Police may remove it after 7 days or more. If Kankakee police tow a car nobody comes for, state law splits the outcome by age:

• Seven model years old or younger: it is held 30 days after notice, then sold at a public auction open only to parts recyclers, rebuilders, scrap processors or the tower.
• Older: there is a 10-day minimum hold while police search for an owner, then it may be scrapped or sold as salvage.

Signing the title over

Kankakee County keeps no title counter. The Illinois Secretary of State handles titles, through Springfield by mail or across the desk at its facilities. From the seller's side, the paperwork is short:

1. Hold the title. Without it, nothing can be assigned.
2. Complete the Assignment of Title: buyer's name, odometer figure, and each seller's signature with the name printed out. The state's instructions for sellers never call for a notary.
3. Put the deal on paper with a bill of sale giving the day and the amount.

After that, the buyer has 20 days to get a new title issued, and pays a $165 title fee. A Kankakee owner who has lost the title files form VSD 190 for a $50 duplicate. Kankakee owners must wait out 15 days from the original's issue date before getting one.

Plates and your release

Pull the plates. Illinois says they belong to you, and a buyer who drove on them would be breaking the law. Next, complete the Notice of Sale strip on the title, or a VSD 703 if it's missing, and mail it to Springfield that same day when possible. The form's instruction is "immediately." That filing ends your responsibility for the car. The buyer's title application is what moves ownership.

Junking certificates

A car that will never be driven again can leave on a junking certificate instead of a title. Whoever holds a junk vehicle must surrender its title with the application within 15 days, unless there is no lienholder on it. Only licensed rebuilders, parts recyclers, scrap processors or an out-of-state salvage buyer may receive a salvage certificate. Anybody at all can receive a junking certificate. More on brands: nonrepairable or junk title.

No emissions hurdle

Illinois doesn't require tailpipe tests in Kankakee County. A failed sensor or a check engine light will not stall the sale.

Nearby towns

Park Forest is 27.8 miles away, Frankfort 28.0, New Lenox 28.8, Chicago Heights 30.7 and Joliet 32.3. State law in one place: Illinois.

Getting an offer

Want an offer? Call (877) 421-6008 from Kankakee, or fill out the form instead. Pickup can happen on a Riverview side street, in your own driveway, or outside the Kankakee shop where it died.