Selling a dead or unplated car in Vernon Hills

Seven days, then a private tow

Section 22-568 is short. When an inoperable car "in view of the general public" is "not removed therefrom within seven days of the service of a notice from the village," the chief of police "may authorize the immediate removal" by a private towing service. That applies on public or private property, and the bill lands on you: "the owner of the vehicle will be responsible for all towing costs."

A second definition with a longer clock

The village's nuisance chapter, Section 13-2, lists "any inoperable motor vehicle, whether on public or private property" among its examples, and defines the term again with "a period of at least 30 days" instead of seven. That list leaves out three groups:

• cars "kept within a building when not in use"
• historic vehicles over 25 years old
• cars that are temporarily laid up "to perform ordinary service or repair operations"

Read together, a car stuck at home mid-repair is treated differently from one that has simply been given up on. But the seven-day notice in Section 22-568 is the one that leads to a tow.

Dead electric cars and village chargers

An EV that will no longer hold a charge cannot camp at a village-owned charging station. Section 22-273 bars staying connected for "longer than four hours," parking there in the overnight hours the code lists, and sitting in the space for "longer than 30 minutes" without actively charging. For an electric car that has stopped taking a charge, see EV battery failed.

Title, plates and the mail-in stub

Lake County has no role in titles. To get these, Vernon Hills owners can write to Springfield or stop by a Secretary of State office. Sign the title over to your Vernon Hills buyer and write in the date. The state's seller steps say nothing about a notary.

The plates stay with you. The buyer cannot keep them on, because driving on someone else's plates is illegal. Once the Vernon Hills car sells, mail form VSD 703 or the title's bottom stub "immediately" to:

"Secretary of State, Vehicle Services Department, Record Inquiry Division, 501 S. Second St., Room 629, Springfield, IL 62756."

The form releases your responsibility for the car. It does not move ownership; the buyer does that with their own title application, which carries a $165 title fee.

If the car is sold for salvage rather than junk, the paperwork narrows who can take it. Vernon Hills owners may assign a salvage certificate only to an out-of-state salvage buyer or a licensed rebuilder, automotive parts recycler or scrap processor. A junking certificate can go to anyone. After you sell walks through the rest.

Neighboring towns

In straight lines, Libertyville is 3.5 miles away, Mundelein 3.9 and Buffalo Grove 4.7: Libertyville, Mundelein, Buffalo Grove. For the whole state, see Illinois.

Getting an offer

For a Vernon Hills car, call (877) 421-6008 or send the short offer form. If the village has already sent a notice, mention it so we know the car needs to move.