Cash for your junk car in Matteson

Matteson is one of the farther towns we cover, but the drive is quick because it’s mostly interstate: a block up Crawford Avenue, onto I-57 south, and off at Lincoln Highway (US 30). That’s about 9 road miles and 15 minutes to the middle of the village.

The village of Matteson

Matteson is a village of about 19,100 people (2020 Census) in Rich Township, with ZIP code 60443. It borders Richton Park to the south, Park Forest, Olympia Fields, Frankfort and Tinley Park, and Country Club Hills to the north.

Main roads:

• Lincoln Highway (US 30), the main east-west road and our exit off I-57.
• Cicero Avenue (IL 50), the second north-south road, and Harlem Avenue (IL 43) at the western corner.
• I-57, which runs through the village.
• Governors Highway, Crawford Avenue and Vollmer Road.

Matteson reference points

• Two Metra Electric stations: Matteson and 211th Street.
• The former Lincoln Mall site at Cicero Avenue and US 30. The mall closed in 2015 and demolition began in 2017.
• Pace Route 357 serves the village.

Housing and where cars sit

About 68% of Matteson homes are single-family houses and another 12% are attached townhomes. About 15% of units are in multi-unit buildings and about 4% are mobile homes. Roughly 77% are owner-occupied. A pickup here might be a driveway, a townhome lot or a mobile home community.

The village’s residential guide sets some ground rules for where vehicles go:

• Approved surfaces only. No parking on the grass.
• One recreational vehicle, behind the front building line, on asphalt or concrete.
• No vehicles over 1.5 tons on residential property.
• Snow: no parking on village streets after a 3-inch snowfall, with tickets and towing for violators, according to the village snow page.

Matteson’s 72-hour rule

Matteson has one of the shortest windows in our area. Under § 90.16, no abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, inoperative, rusted or junked vehicle may be parked or stored on public or private property for more than 72 hours. Such a vehicle is a public nuisance. Section 90.15 defines a junked motor vehicle as one with no unexpired license plate that’s also wrecked, dismantled, inoperative or abandoned.

Before the village removes a vehicle, police give at least 10 days’ notice, posted and sent by registered mail (§ 90.19), and the owner or occupant is liable for the removal costs (§ 90.18). Vehicles inside a building, business-held vehicles, race vehicles and antique collections are exempt. The village’s code enforcement list also names “motor vehicles with no plates, current tags or in disrepair” as a reportable violation.

Compare Matteson’s rule with nearby towns in our inoperable car notice guide.

No village sticker

Matteson eliminated its vehicle sticker program effective January 1, 2023, so there’s nothing local to cancel. File the state’s Seller’s Report of Sale once the car is sold.

Matteson’s neighbors

We also cover Richton Park to the south, Country Club Hills to the north and Flossmoor to the northeast. Old pickups, vans and SUVs: see trucks, vans and SUVs, or scrap cars for stripped or rusted-out vehicles.