When a car is scrap, not junk
A scrap car is one whose value is in its metal and remaining parts rather than in being driven again. In practice that’s a car that has been:
- stripped: wheels, seats, engine parts or the catalytic converter taken,
- burned: an engine fire, an arson, or a garage fire,
- flooded: water in the cabin or engine, common in low spots near the Little Calumet River and Thorn Creek,
- rusted through: floors, rockers or frame rails eaten away after years of road salt.
We buy all four, plus anything in between. The question we care about is not how bad it looks but whether you own it and whether a truck can reach it.
How a scrap car pickup differs
A scrap car can be harder to move than an ordinary dead car. Wheels may be missing, so the car sits on its hubs or on blocks. A burned car may have no tires left at all. A rusted car may have soft spots where a lift would normally go.
So be specific on the call:
| Condition | What to tell us |
|---|---|
| Missing wheels | How many, and whether it’s on blocks |
| Fire damage | Whether the fire department released it |
| Flood damage | How high the water came, if you know |
| Rust | Whether the floor or frame is visibly gone |
| Missing parts | Which ones, so the offer matches |
Where scrap cars turn up
Back yards, side lots, garages that haven’t opened in years, and the end of a driveway. These are also the cars that draw village notices. South Holland doesn’t allow an inoperable vehicle on any public or private property, Dolton treats a junked car that can’t run for 10 days as a nuisance, and Riverdale counts parts kept outside as a nuisance along with the car. See South Holland and Dolton for the local rules, and our guide to inoperable car notices for the side-by-side.
A yard, or a tow to you
You can haul a scrap car to a yard yourself if you have a trailer and a way to load it. Most people don’t. Our page on junkyards versus removal services is a plain comparison of both. With us, the tow is free and there’s no fee taken off the offer for it; our guide to whether junk car removal is really free covers what to ask any buyer.
Paperwork and payment
You’ll need to show you own the car. With a title, you sign it over at pickup. Without one, list the papers you do have; Illinois sets which of them can replace a title on a scrap sale, and we’ll confirm on the call before the truck comes. Payment is at the car, by cash, Zelle or Cash App.
A scrap car that was in a crash may fit better under wrecked car removal, and a whole car that simply stopped running is under non-running car removal. Old work trucks and vans are covered on truck, van and SUV removal.