Selling a dead or junk car in Wilmette

When the village calls a car inoperable

Wilmette's Section 14-1 calls a car an "inoperable motor vehicle" when engine, wheels or other parts are removed, altered or damaged "for a period of at least seven days," making it "incapable of being driven under its own motor power." Section 14-368 makes that car a nuisance when it is "in view of the general public," whether the land is public or private.

The clock starts with a notice from the village. You have seven days to dispose of the car. After that:

• a fine of "not less than $100.00 for a first offense," and not less than $200.00 for a second
• the Police Department may remove the car or its parts

A car "kept within a building when not in use" is outside Wilmette's rule. On private land in Wilmette, so are cars at a junking or wrecking business and running historic vehicles older than 25 years. So a dead sedan in the garage is outside the rule, and the same sedan on the driveway is not.

Streets, alleys and village lots

Wilmette has a separate label for cars left on public ground. An "abandoned vehicle" is one left unattended on an alley, street, highway or village-run parking lot that is inoperable, shows no plate, or shows a plate or temporary registration "more than 30 days expired." Section 14-367 lets police tow an abandoned or inoperable car from those places. If the registration records show who owns it, the officer mails a written notice giving the reason and the car's location. The village may also charge you for the tow. If that has already happened, see towed or impounded.

Signing it over in Illinois

Cook County doesn't issue Wilmette titles. The Illinois Secretary of State does. From Wilmette, the application goes by mail to Springfield or in person to a Secretary of State facility. Wilmette sellers have no extra Illinois form. Wilmette sellers sign the certificate's Assignment of Title and add the date. The state's steps call for no notary. Its FAQ says the signed and printed names of every seller and buyer must be there, along with the odometer certification.

Three things then go with you or into the mail:

• Plates. These are yours. Remove them before the car goes, since a buyer can't legally drive on plates that belong to another person.
• Notice of Sale. A Wilmette seller mails the title's bottom stub to the Secretary of State "immediately," or uses form VSD 703 if the stub is missing. It ends your liability for the Wilmette car, but it doesn't transfer ownership.
• Bill of sale. Write the date and the price, and take down the buyer's name and address.

If your Wilmette title is lost, replace it first. Form VSD 190 gets a duplicate for $50. Our guide to selling with no title covers that. Cook County falls within the state's emissions-testing area. If a failed test is the reason the car sits, see failed emissions.

Towns around Wilmette

Measured in straight lines, Evanston is 2.8 miles away, Skokie 2.9 and Morton Grove 3.9. Each has its own page: Evanston, Skokie and Morton Grove. Statewide rules are on the Illinois page.

Getting an offer

Have a Wilmette car to sell? Phone (877) 421-6008 or fill in the offer form. We drive out to wherever the car is parked. For a Wilmette car kept covered in a garage, clear enough space so it can be rolled out.