Why a dead car is the easy case
A car that won’t run is the normal case for a junk car tow: the car can’t get to a buyer on its own, so the buyer comes to it. When the truck arrives, the driver hooks up the car where it sits, whether that’s at the curb, in a driveway, in a garage or on an apartment lot.
What matters is not why the car stopped running but how it sits now. A car with a dead battery on four good tires on a flat driveway takes minutes. A car with two flat tires, a locked steering wheel and its nose against the back wall of a garage takes more planning. Neither one costs you anything extra.
Details for the call
These five details decide how the pickup goes. Have them ready when you call or fill in the form:
- Year, make and model. The form asks for these first.
- Whether it rolls. Do the wheels turn? Are any tires flat or missing?
- Whether it goes into neutral. With a dead battery, many automatics need the shift-lock release; our guide to moving a car that won’t roll explains it.
- Where it sits. Street, driveway, garage, alley or lot, and which way it faces.
- What papers you have. Title, registration, or neither.
Common reasons a car stops running
None of these change whether we’ll take it:
| What happened | What it means for the pickup |
|---|---|
| Battery died after months parked | Usually rolls; shifting to neutral may need the release |
| Engine seized or blown | Rolls if the wheels are free; no effect on the tow |
| Transmission gone | May not shift into neutral; tell us |
| Flat or missing tires | Tell us which ones; it changes how the car is lifted |
| Parking brake rusted on | Wheels may drag; mention it |
| Flood or fire damage | Treated like any non-runner; see scrap car removal |
Local rules put a clock on dead cars
Every village around our Riverdale lot has a rule about cars that can’t move. Riverdale and Calumet Park count a car as inoperable after 7 days; Dolton allows 10; Dixmoor allows a wrecked car only 48 hours outside a building on private property. In Chicago, a car that hasn’t moved for more than seven days and looks deserted can be classed as abandoned. Our comparison of inoperable car rules has the details by town, including Riverdale and Calumet Park.
If you have a notice on the windshield, the notice date is your deadline. We can often pick up the same day, especially when you call in the morning.
How the pickup goes
The driver arrives, checks that the car matches what you described, and loads it. You sign over the title or the papers we agreed on, and you’re paid right there by cash, Zelle or Cash App. Then the car leaves on the truck. The full sequence is in our pickup day walk-through.
If the dead car is at a repair shop or on an apartment lot rather than at home, that works too; see apartment and repair-shop pickup. If it’s dead because it was in a crash, our wrecked car removal page is the closer match.
Paperwork without a title
Plenty of non-running cars have been parked so long the title is lost. Tell us what you have, whether that’s a registration card, an old insurance card or a bill of sale. Illinois law decides which of those can stand in for a title on a scrap sale, so we’ll tell you on the call whether yours will do, before anyone drives out.