Selling a dead or junk car in Lombard

Seven days or thirty

The code gives two different clocks. Lombard's Section 94.20 treats a car as inoperable when, "for a period of at least 30 days," missing or damaged engine, wheels or other parts keep it from being driven. The nuisance schedule in section 94.04 uses "a period of at least seven days" for the same condition. The two have not been reconciled in the text we read, so plan around seven.

Once the Village or the police send written notice, section 94.22 says "All persons are required to dispose of any inoperable vehicles under their control." No grace period is written into that sentence.

Nothing on the street

Section 94.24 has no clock at all: "No person shall leave any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, or junked vehicle on any street or highway in the village." A car that dies at the curb should be moved or sold before anyone notices it.

Yard space is limited too

Lombard's zoning code caps how many cars can sit outside overnight. In the R0, R1 and R2 districts, section 155.602 allows "not more than two vehicles" overnight in a required front or corner side yard and "not more than three" in the required rear yard. A dead car counts against those numbers the same as a working one.

If police impound it

Under section 75.03, when an officer finds a car subject to impound, someone the owner authorizes who is present and able to move it may be allowed to take it away. A car in the lot stays there until someone pays the administrative fee plus the towing and storage costs. Section 75.07 deems a car unclaimed if those go unpaid for 35 days after the deadlines it describes, and it is then disposed of under state law.

Paperwork for a Lombard sale

Even though Lombard sits in DuPage County, the Illinois Secretary of State issues its titles, by mail from Springfield or at a state facility. To sell, fill out the Assignment of Title on the title. State and federal law require every seller and buyer to sign and print a name, plus the odometer reading. No notary shows up in the Secretary of State's steps for sellers. Keep your plates.

The step that protects you most is the Seller's Report of Sale (VSD 703), mailed to Springfield immediately. The buyer gets 20 days to retitle and pays the $165 title fee. Until that happens, the notice you mailed is your proof that you parted with the car. After you sell covers plates and insurance.

DuPage is part of the Illinois emissions-test area. If the car is an older project you will never finish, old project car may help.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the online form for your Lombard car. Driveway or garage near the Metra station, we come to it. Neighbors: Villa Park, Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Wheaton, and Illinois.