Most people who leave an old car sitting in the driveway for another year do it because of something they half-remember hearing. Some of it is harmless. One piece of it is wrong in a way that costs you a wasted afternoon and a tow truck that leaves empty. These are the five we hear most often at our Aurora yard, and what actually happens.
Myth 1: You can sell a junk car without the title
This is the one that causes real trouble. Illinois requires a Certificate of Title, free of liens, to transfer a vehicle to a licensed recycler. A buyer who tells you the paperwork does not matter is either not licensed or not planning to file the state’s Junk Vehicle Notification and that leaves the liability sitting with you.
If the title is lost, replacing it is routine rather than difficult. File Form VSD 190 with the Illinois Secretary of State and pay the $50 duplicate fee. Allow three to four weeks by mail or ask about same-day service at a full-service facility. Any reputable yard will hold your quote while you wait.
Myth 2: A car that does not run is worth nothing
Most of what we buy does not run. A vehicle that will not start still carries two kinds of value: the recoverable weight of the shell, priced per ton as scrap, and any components that can be graded and resold.
The engine, transmission, alternator and body panels are frequently worth more resold than melted down, and an intact factory catalytic converter is usually the single highest-value part on the car. A common model with steady parts demand is worth more than a rare one nobody is shopping for. Condition affects your number. It rarely takes it to zero.
Myth 3: Every buyer pays roughly the same
Offers vary more than people expect. Scrap steel is priced per ton and moves week to week, and buyers differ in what they can actually resell, a yard that dismantles and sells parts can pay more for a common model than an operation that only crushes.
Be skeptical of a flat figure quoted online before anyone has seen the vehicle, particularly from a service that will pass the job to whichever contractor is nearest. That is the number most likely to be renegotiated in your driveway once the truck arrives. Ask how the offer was calculated; a buyer who can answer that is a buyer whose number will hold.
Myth 4: Handing over the car ends your responsibility
Two things still need to be done. Remove your license plates in Illinois, they stay with you and can be transferred to another vehicle or surrendered to the Secretary of State. Leaving them attached is how people end up with citations for a car they no longer own.
Second, the recycler must file a Junk Vehicle Notification with the state. Ask whoever collects your vehicle to confirm they will. And clear your belongings out first: check the glovebox, the boot and under the seats, because anything left behind goes with the car.
Myth 5: Junking a car is bad for the environment
Done properly, it is close to the opposite. Fluids and refrigerants are drained and captured, batteries are removed and mercury switches recovered before anything is crushed. Usable parts go back onto the road instead of being manufactured again from raw ore.
The Automotive Recyclers Association certifies facilities that meet this standard. Its Certified Automotive Recycler audit covers stormwater pollution prevention and hazardous materials handling, and our Aurora yard holds that certification along with Gold Seal for parts grading and written warranties. The difference between a certified recycler and an unlicensed operation is mostly a question of where the fluids end up.
Thinking about selling?
We have bought junk vehicles across the Chicago suburbs from our Aurora yard since 1981. If you want a firm figure, call (630) 898-2900 with the year, make, model and a short description of what is missing, and you will have one in a few minutes. Towing is free and you are paid when the driver collects the car.
For local details, see our pages for junk car buyer in Darien, IL and junk car buyer in Wheaton, IL, or read our guide to junking your car for the full step-by-step.