When a car stops moving
Palos Heights skews older than its neighbors. The 2020 Census put the median age at 54.3, with nearly a third of residents 65 or older, and more than 93% of homes are owner-occupied. The car you’re dealing with may not be a wreck at all. It could be a sedan that went unused when its driver gave up the keys, and has sat in the garage since.
That garage is exactly where the city wants it. Palos Heights rewrote the vehicle section of the International Property Maintenance Code so that unregistered and inoperable vehicles in residential districts must be garaged. In nonresidential districts, no vehicle in major disassembly or disrepair may be kept at all. Once the registration lapses, moving the car to the driveway to free up the garage isn’t an option.
When the person on the title has passed
Selling a late spouse’s or parent’s car needs its own plan. Start by finding the title and noting exactly whose name is on it. Then tell us what other papers the family holds; Illinois rules decide which documents can transfer a car for scrap in that situation, and we’ll go over it with you before anything is scheduled. If the title can’t be found at all, our guide to replacing a lost Illinois title explains the duplicate process.
Pickup on Palos Heights streets
Most homes here are houses or attached homes, so pickup usually means a driveway or an attached garage. Street parking is barred from 2 to 5 a.m. every night, and once snow on the street passes an inch, parking is limited to short stops, three minutes to drop off passengers or 30 minutes to load, until plowing is done. Cars in alleys must leave 10 feet clear. There’s no towing bill, and you’re paid as the car is loaded.
Around Palos Heights
Harlem Avenue meets College Drive (119th Street) in the city, and the Metra SouthWest Service stops here. We also buy cars in Worth to the northeast, Palos Hills to the west and Palos Park to the southwest, plus every community on our areas we serve page.
Selling a car in Palos Heights: common questions
I'm selling a car that belonged to a parent who has died. Can you help in Palos Heights?
Yes. Tell us whose name is on the title and which documents the family has gathered. When the titled owner has died, the paperwork is different from an ordinary sale, so we'll talk through what applies before a pickup is booked. Take your time; there's no pressure to decide on the first call.
Can I keep an unregistered car in my Palos Heights driveway?
No. The city's property maintenance code says unregistered and inoperable vehicles in residential districts must be kept in a garage. If the garage is full or you want the space back, selling the car settles it; your tow is free of charge, and the payment happens when we hook up the car.