Junk Car Pickup in Prospect Heights, From Apartment Lots to Driveways

Apartment buildings change the overnight math

Prospect Heights is a small city, about 4.3 square miles and one ZIP code, but its housing leans heavily toward apartments and condos. More than half of its homes are in buildings with two or more units, and over 40% are in complexes of five units or more. Only about 37% are detached houses.

That matters because of how the city handles overnight parking. Street parking is banned from 2 to 6 a.m. Other residents can request police permission for up to three nights in a 30-day stretch, but residents of apartment buildings can’t, and nobody gets permission once 2 inches of snow have fallen. If you rent and your car dies, its options shrink to your assigned space or the building lot.

Pulling a car out of a complex lot

So a junk car here is often parked in a shared lot rather than a driveway. A few details make that kind of pickup faster:

• the spot number and building, and whether a gate code or garage fob is needed;
• whether the wheels turn and the car rolls in neutral;
• where the keys are, if there are any.

We tow at no charge, and the seller is paid at pickup. Same-day pickup is often possible.

Titles, stickers and the city license

Prospect Heights requires an annual vehicle license for cars registered to an address in the city or kept there, sold in person at City Hall on Elmhurst Road. When you’re about to sell a junk car, check with City Hall about how the sale affects that license rather than renewing on autopilot.

Missing the title is a separate question. Let us know what’s in the glovebox or the file drawer, perhaps a past registration card, proof of insurance or a bill of sale, and we’ll say on the call whether Illinois allows a scrap sale with them. If you’d rather replace the title first, our guide to getting a duplicate Illinois title covers it.

Between Wheeling and Mount Prospect

Prospect Heights sits between Wheeling to the north and Mount Prospect to the south, with Arlington Heights wrapping around its west side, and we cover all three. The Metra North Central stop on Wolf Road and Chicago Executive Airport just over the Wheeling line are easy landmarks for giving directions. Our complete town list shows every suburb we tow from.