Selling a junk car in Romeoville

How the village code describes a car that does not run

Section 157.003 also defines a single broken car: one "damaged or in a state of disrepair to such an extent that it cannot be operated under its own power and will require major repairs before being made usable." The same entry reaches a car "which does not comply with state or village laws or ordinances for motor vehicles," so a car that starts but breaks those rules can fit too.

The traffic chapter says when a car stops counting as a car. Section 70.01 treats it as a vehicle until it "comes within the definition of a 'junk vehicle'" or "a junking certificate is issued for it." That certificate is the state paper covered further down.

Licensed yards belong in the M-2 heavy manufacturing district. Section 157.105 allows them only "within completely enclosed buildings or screened by a solid wall or uniformly painted solid fence at least 12 feet high." A home lot near the Metra line is nothing like that.

The removal clock we did not find

The sections we read define these cars but set no deadline for moving one off a home lot. Illinois law lets Romeoville adopt an ordinance that treats a visible inoperable car as a nuisance. Police can then tow it 7 days after the town's notice. A Romeoville car becomes inoperable under Illinois law after 7 days or more with parts missing or damage that stops it running on its own power. Time off the road for routine repair alone is left out. Romeoville may have its own rules beyond the sections listed here, so any notice from the village sets the clock.

Parking tickets and snow tows

Section 73.11 puts the fine for most parking tickets issued on or after October 1, 2014 at $30. Section 78.01 lists the tows the village recognizes. One is a car that "must be moved to allow for proper village snow removal." Another is a car parked where the law bans it, when posted signs say it can be towed. A dead car left at the curb in winter is the one most likely to meet a tow truck.

Paperwork for a Romeoville seller

Will County does not issue titles here. Romeoville owners can visit an Illinois Secretary of State facility or write to Springfield for it. On the day the car leaves:

• your signature and the date go in the Assignment of Title box; no notary appears in the state's seller steps
• add the buyer's printed name and address, plus the odometer reading
• unscrew your plates first, since Illinois plates go home with you
• put the sale date and price on a simple bill of sale
• tear off the Romeoville title's Notice of Sale (or print VSD 703) and mail it right away to the Springfield records office listed on the form

Once that report is filed, you're legally done with the car. It isn't the buyer's until they title it, which they must do within 20 days. A lost title needs a $50 duplicate first, covered in selling with no title.

A car bound for scrap gets a junking certificate. When a Romeoville owner junks a car, the title goes in with that application inside 15 days. If no lienholder is on the title, the owner can keep it. Will County is in the state emissions area; if the car could not pass, see failed emissions.

Getting an offer

Have a car in Romeoville to sell? For a Romeoville car, call (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. We'll get it from a driveway, a lot or a repair bay. Nearby: Bolingbrook, Crest Hill and Lockport. State rules are on the Illinois page.