Selling a dead car in Naperville

What the code covers

Section 4-5-2 is broad: "The parking or storing of any inoperable motor vehicle in the open on any property within the City is hereby declared to be a nuisance." Three cases are exempt. Section 4-5-3 leaves out cars at a wrecking or junking business, cars "kept within a building," and cars in a back yard that the owner or tenant is actively restoring. A stalled restoration may lose that cover; our old project car guide is for that spot.

How the notice and hearing work

Naperville delivers the notice in person or sends it certified, addressed to the property owner, the person in control of the lot, or the car's owner. Should the post office return that letter, the city may instead fix a self-sticking notice somewhere visible on the vehicle, and the 7 days then count from the day it was placed.

To stop the tow, file a written request for an administrative hearing with the Director of Community Development within those 7 days. After the hearing, "the Director shall render a written decision within five (5) days" on whether the car is an inoperable vehicle subject to abatement.

If the city does tow, Section 4-5-7 makes towing and storage the vehicle owner's cost, and "No motor vehicle towed pursuant to this Chapter shall be released without payment of the cost of towing and storage."

On the street, the clock is the same length. The towing article counts as abandoned any vehicle "parked and unmoved on a public way or in a public parking lot for a period of at least seven (7) days."

Emissions in DuPage and Will

Both of Naperville's counties belong to the Illinois emissions program. Gas-powered cars from 1996 onward come due at age four, every other year by model-year parity, in the month the plates expire. A car that cannot pass still sells; the test belongs to registration.

Title and plates

Naperville owners get an Illinois title from the Secretary of State, at a state facility or through Springfield by mail. We haven't confirmed a facility in Naperville. As the seller, you:

• take off your plates before pickup. They are still yours, and the buyer can't drive with them
• fill out the Assignment of Title with signature and date, get every party's name printed and signed, and certify the mileage; no notary shows up in the state's published seller steps
• make out a bill of sale listing the sale amount and date, and keep the buyer's name and address
• send the Naperville Notice of Sale (the stub or form VSD 703) to Springfield's Record Inquiry Division; the form says "immediately", and filing it ends your responsibility but does not transfer ownership

A lost title is replaced on form VSD 190 for $50. A car going to scrap can get a junking certificate. You apply within 15 days, and if no lienholder exists, you keep from giving up the title.

Nearby

By straight-line distance, Lisle is 4.8 miles off, Bolingbrook 5.1, Woodridge 6.1 and Aurora 6.7. Downers Grove and Wheaton are both 7.9. See Illinois for statewide rules.

Getting an offer

For a Naperville car, call (877) 421-6008 or send the online offer form. A notice already on the windshield? Give us its date, and see notice to remove a car for your options.