Markham is a city of single-family homes: 94.6% of housing units are detached houses, and about three in four are owner-occupied. It also has about 500 acres of the Indian Boundary Prairies, including the Gensburg-Markham Prairie, a National Natural Landmark. For a junk-car pickup, that usually means a driveway on a quiet residential block not far from Kedzie Avenue, 159th Street or 167th Street.
Markham’s street rules leave no room for a dead car
Markham’s parking schedule is strict. No car may park on any street from 3 to 5 a.m. On the side of a street with fire hydrants, parking isn’t allowed at any time, apart from a short stretch of Wolcott and Honore between 161st and 162nd. Kedzie Avenue, Crawford Avenue, Central Park and Wood Street have no parking at all, and once two inches of snow are on the ground, both sides of every street close and parked cars can be towed.
Put together, a car that won’t start has almost nowhere legal to sit on the street. The driveway becomes its only home.
The 7-day nuisance and the 24-hour repair limit
The driveway has its own clock. An inoperable vehicle, one with parts removed or disabled for seven days or more, that sits on private property in public view is a public nuisance, and the owner has to dispose of it after notice. Cars inside a building, historic vehicles over 25 years old and junking businesses are exempt.
Repairs at the curb are short-lived too. Markham lets you work on a car on the right-of-way only to get it running, and only for up to 24 hours after it breaks down. You can’t tow a car onto the right-of-way to fix it there. If a repair will take longer, or cost more than the car is worth, our guide to selling a car that doesn’t run lays out the choices.
Pickup and paperwork
Markham keeps heavy trucks off residential streets, but it allows stops under two hours for transporting disabled vehicles, which covers a normal pickup. Tell us where the car is and whether it rolls.
Bring your title if you have it. Otherwise, let us know which papers you have, like a current or expired registration, an insurance card, a bill of sale and your driver’s license. Which of those papers will support a scrap sale is a matter of Illinois rules; we’ll confirm yours on the call. There’s no charge for the tow, and you’re paid at pickup.
Markham borders Harvey, Hazel Crest and Country Club Hills, all in our area. The rest are on our list of towns.
Selling a car in Markham: common questions
Can a tow truck come down my residential street in Markham?
Yes. Markham bars tow trucks and other heavy vehicles from residential streets, driveways and vacant lots, but makes an exception for stops under two hours to pick up or deliver, or to move a disabled vehicle. A junk car pickup fits that exception.
Which side of the street can I leave the dead car on before pickup?
In most of Markham, not the hydrant side; the code bans parking at any time on the side of a street with fire hydrants. And from 3 to 5 a.m. no street parking is allowed at all. A driveway is the safest place for it to wait.