Selling a dead or junk car in Oak Park

Streets and alleys: counted in hours

Section 15-7-3 is blunt: "No person shall leave any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked or junked vehicle on any street or highway within the Village." Article 15-10 then sets how soon a tow can follow, and the clock starts when police or the Parking and Mobility staff attach a "notice of intent to tow" sticker marked with the date and time:

• 10 hours after the sticker, for an inoperable car on a street or alley with no current state registration or Village vehicle license.
• 24 hours after the sticker, for an inoperable car on a street or alley that does show current registration or a Village license.
• 24 hours after the sticker, for a car "continuously unlawfully parked in excess of twenty four (24) hours."
• A registered car that "has not been moved for at least seven (7) consecutive days" and looks deserted, on property that is not the owner's, can also be towed after notice.

A notice is also mailed, both certified and regular, to the address the Illinois registration list shows. It must say why the car will be towed and how to recover it or get a hearing. For an out-of-state car, the Village writes to that state for the owner's address, but it will not hold off a tow more than seven days after that inquiry.

When the car has been towed to a lot

A seizure under section 15-10-20, such as for driving on a suspended license, carries an administrative penalty plus towing and storage fees, and nothing is released until all of it is paid. A car not reclaimed within 35 days after a final order can be disposed of as unclaimed. An ordinary tow follows state law. Oak Park sends an unclaimed car that's 7 model years old or newer to public auction 30 days after notice. Oak Park holds an older towed car 10 days or more before it may go as junk or salvage. Towed or impounded covers getting a car back.

Illinois paperwork for an Oak Park sale

Titles are not a Village matter. For Oak Park owners, the Illinois Secretary of State issues them through its Vehicle Records Processing Division in Springfield by mail, or at a facility counter. The steps for a seller:

1. Use the Assignment of Title on the title to sign it over to the buyer. Under state and federal law, both sides of an Oak Park sale print and sign their names and fill in the odometer certification. Nothing in the state's steps for sellers calls for a notary.
2. Remove your plates before the buyer leaves. Driving on someone else's plates is illegal.
3. In Oak Park, the seller detaches the Notice of Sale at the foot of the title, or fills out form VSD 703, and posts it to "Secretary of State, Vehicle Services Department, Record Inquiry Division, 501 S. Second St., Room 629, Springfield, IL 62756." The form asks for this immediately.
4. Keep the Oak Park bill of sale with its price and sale date.

Any Oak Park owner may get a junking certificate. Only four kinds of holder can have an Oak Park salvage certificate: a licensed rebuilder, a parts recycler, a scrap processor or an out-of-state salvage buyer. If a car sat for years on old stickers and gets renewed over a month late, it owes a single $20 delinquent renewal fee. The statute names no back fees for extra years. See car sitting for years.

Getting an offer

Selling a car in Oak Park? Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. Loading works from a garage off the alley or a side street near Lake Street. Neighbors in Berwyn, Maywood and Chicago have their own pages, and Illinois has the statewide rules.