How a free junk car pickup works with Top Dollar Junk Cars
Does the tow cost anything?
Yes. When Top Dollar Junk Cars buys your car, the tow costs you nothing and nothing is deducted from the figure to pay for it. The truck comes to wherever the car sits in Chicago, its suburbs or Northwest Indiana up to Gary, and you're paid as the car goes on.
Some buyers advertise free removal and then quote a figure with the towing cost already taken out. Ours works the other way round: the number we give on the call is for the car, and the truck is our cost. If you're comparing buyers, our guide on how junk car offers move lists the questions that bring a hidden tow charge to light.
The five steps, start to finish
Call or send the form
Give us the year, make and model, whether you hold the title, and the pickup address. If the car is missing parts or has flood or fire damage, say so now; it's part of the figure.
We call with a figure
During our 6am to 9pm hours, someone rings with a number for that car. Ask how we reached it. There's no obligation to say yes on the spot.
Book the tow
Pick a time that works for you. Same-day pickup is often possible, and one visit can take several cars from the same address.
Payment as it's loaded
You're paid at pickup, in cash, or by Zelle or Cash App if you'd rather, or another digital payment. Nothing is deducted for the tow.
Papers and plates
Hand over the title or the papers we agreed on the call, take your plates off, and clear out anything of yours before the car leaves.
Ready to start? Send the details through the quote form, or call the number at the bottom of this page.
Making sure the truck can reach the car
Most pickups are from the curb or a driveway, and need nothing from you beyond being reachable by phone. A few situations need a word on the call:
- Garages and back yards. Tell us how the car sits and whether it rolls. A car with flat tires or a seized wheel loads differently from one that rolls freely.
- Repair shops. Cars waiting at a mechanic's are fine to collect. Let the shop know we're coming and settle anything you owe them first.
- Apartment and HOA lots. Also fine, as long as you've cleared it with the management or the association.
- Alleys. Many Chicago-area towns have rules on how much of an alley must stay clear; each page in our directory of pickup towns notes the local rules where we've checked them, as the Oak Lawn page does for that village's alleys.
No keys? We still buy it
A lost key doesn't stop the sale, and neither does a car that won't start. Tell us when you call, so the driver knows what to expect before arriving.
Papers, plates and what to take out
Have the title ready to sign over to us. If you don't have it, agree on the call which papers will do; the details by state are on selling without the title. Selling for a business? A company-owned vehicle needs someone with authority to sign for the firm.
Before the car leaves, take off the license plates. In Illinois, plates belong to the owner rather than the car; the Secretary of State's title and registration pages cover what you can do with them next. Then sweep the car for anything of yours: papers in the glovebox, a garage opener on the visor, a toll transponder on the windshield. Cancel the insurance once the car has gone, not before.
Want to know who you're dealing with? Read about Top Dollar Junk Cars, or call us or find us on Cicero Avenue in Alsip. Everything else, from what we buy to where we collect, starts on the Top Dollar Junk Cars home page.
Start with step one
Year, make, model and title status take about a minute to enter. We'll take it from there.