Cash for junk cars in Tinley Park

Tinley Park is the biggest town we serve, with 55,971 people at the 2020 Census across about sixteen square miles. From our lot it’s roughly nine miles: down Cicero Avenue to 159th Street, then south on Harlem Avenue. Seventeen minutes in light traffic, a bit more if the pickup is south of I-80.

A village in two counties

Most of Tinley Park is in Cook County, across Bremen, Orland and Rich townships, and part of it is in Will County’s Frankfort Township. It uses three ZIP codes: 60477, 60478 and 60487. The village hall is at 16250 South Oak Park Avenue.

The neighbours go all the way around: Oak Forest to the northeast, Orland Park to the northwest, Orland Hills and Mokena to the west, Country Club Hills to the east, Matteson to the southeast, Frankfort to the southwest and Frankfort Square to the south.

Tinley Park roads

I-80 is Tinley Park’s east-west expressway. Harlem Avenue (IL-43) is the main north-south road, with La Grange Road (US-45) at the western corner and 159th Street (US-6) at the northern one. Inside the village, 80th Avenue is the main north-south road in the Cook County part, and 171st and 191st Streets are major east-west roads. Both Harlem and La Grange have I-80 interchanges in the village.

Two Metra Rock Island stations are here, Tinley Park on Oak Park Avenue and 80th Avenue, and those make good landmarks when you tell us where the car is.

Townhomes and the street rules

About 87 percent of Tinley Park homes are owner-occupied, and roughly 77 percent are single-unit, but only about 55 percent are detached houses, by 2020 to 2024 census estimates. Attached homes and townhomes make up a big share, so expect shared lots, short driveways and garages with a neighbour’s car right beside the one we’re collecting.

The street rules are strict:

• Overnight. No parking on any street from 2:00 to 5:00 a.m., any day (§ 73.09). The village’s online form grants overnight permission one vehicle and one date at a time, up to three consecutive nights.
• Snow. Once snow on the street passes one inch, parking is limited to three minutes for passengers or 30 for loading, during the snowfall and for eight hours after it stops, until removal is done, and police may tow (§ 73.11).
• For sale. No parking on a street to display a vehicle for sale (§ 73.10).
• Alleys. Ten feet clear, no blocked driveway entrances (§ 73.05).
• Vehicle types. Only passenger cars, station wagons and privately owned pickups or panel trucks of 3/4 ton or less may park on streets and right-of-way, unless posted otherwise or delivering (§ 73.12).

That last rule matters if the dead vehicle is a heavier work truck; our page on scrap trucks, vans and SUVs covers those.

Dead cars and lapsed licenses

Tinley Park’s nuisance chapter lists non-functioning motor vehicles, and vehicles without a current license, among items that are a nuisance if collected or left anywhere in the village other than as the code allows (§ 98.02(F)). On the public way, a car that’s in disrepair and undrivable, or hasn’t moved in seven days and looks abandoned, can be treated as abandoned (§ 90.20). Before a tow the village gives notice by personal delivery or registered mail and puts a notice-of-intent-to-tow sticker on the car, and the owner has seven days to ask for a hearing (§ 90.23).

Getting a townhome pickup ready

Townhome pickups go faster when a few things are done ahead: the car is cleared of personal items, the plates are off, the papers are ready and the neighbour knows a tow truck will be in the shared lot for a few minutes. Our pre-pickup checklist has the full list, and the scrap car removal page explains the visit.

Tinley Park’s northwest neighbour, Orland Park, is on our list too.