Cash for your junk car in Country Club Hills

Country Club Hills is the closest town to our Crawford Avenue location. Drive south on Crawford (it becomes Pulaski Road) for a little over two miles, turn west on 177th Street, and you’re in the middle of the city. That’s about 2.5 road miles and 5 minutes.

About the city

The city has about 16,800 residents (2020 Census) on 5 square miles in Bremen and Rich townships. In the 1800s the area was known as Cooper’s Grove. It borders Markham to the north, Hazel Crest to the east, Flossmoor and Matteson to the south, Oak Forest to the northwest, and Cook County forest preserves and Tinley Park to the west. Its ZIP, 60478, is shared with part of Tinley Park.

Roads

• Pulaski Road (Crawford Avenue), our route in, past Hillcrest High School at 175th Street.
• Cicero Avenue (IL 50), which passes under I-57 and I-80 with no access to either.
• 175th Street, 183rd Street and 167th Street.
• The I-57 / I-80 interchange is inside the city, and I-57 exit 346 at 167th Street links to Cicero Avenue.

City landmarks and neighborhoods

• Hillcrest High School at 175th and Pulaski. The name combines Country Club Hills and Hazel Crest.
• The city campus with its amphitheater and fire station, and the police department on 175th Street.
• Shopping at The Shops at Cooper’s Grove, Heritage Plaza and Country Club Plaza, and the large Gatling Square Mile development.
• Parks such as Community Park, Water Tower Park, Independence Park, Tierra Grande Park and Willow Wood Park.
• Neighborhood names include Tierra Grande and Marylake Estates.
• There’s no Metra station in the city. Pace route 750 runs a rush-hour feeder to the Flossmoor Metra station.

Housing and where the car is

About 90% of homes here are single-unit houses and roughly three-quarters are owner-occupied. Most junk cars here are in a driveway or a garage.

The city’s parking rules are strict about cars on the street, so plan around them:

• 3 to 6 a.m. ban on every street, including state highways in the city’s jurisdiction (Sec. 6.2.02). A disabled vehicle can stay up to 24 hours if you notify police, and the city’s overnight parking page explains how to request an exemption (three nights per vehicle per 30 days).
• Snow: no parking on any residential street once 2 inches of snow are on it, and cars left there can be towed without prior notice.
• No parking within 15 feet of a mailbox on residential streets.

The city’s 48-hour vehicle rules

The city has the shortest deadlines of the towns we cover, all in Sec. 6.2.03:

• Abandoned includes any vehicle outside an enclosed garage without current state plates, one unmoved for 48 consecutive hours on public or private property, or one illegally parked on a street for 48 hours.
• Inoperable means the engine, wheels, tires or other parts are removed or visibly damaged for 48 consecutive hours, or the car can’t run under its own power. Cars kept in a building, registered antiques 25 years and older, and repair or wrecking businesses are excluded.
• Nuisance: leaving an inoperable or abandoned vehicle on a street, or allowing one on your property, is a public nuisance.
• Tarps don’t help. Covering the car or keeping it in an unenclosed structure doesn’t cure it.
• Selling it buys time. The code gives an owner who is selling the car 30 days after notice.
• The police notice on the car demands removal within 48 hours.

If you’ve just received a notice, a sale with a same-day or next-day pickup is often the simplest answer. Our guide to inoperable car notices in the south suburbs compares these rules with nearby towns.

City vehicle sticker

The city charges a $25 annual vehicle license per passenger car (Sec. 8.1.03), running July 1 to June 30. Once the car is sold, remove the sticker and you won’t owe next year’s.

Around the city

We also pick up in Hazel Crest to the east, Oak Forest to the northwest and Matteson to the south. For a car that won’t start, see cars that don’t run, and for crash damage, wrecked cars.