Junk car buyer on the Near West Side

United Center game nights, hospital shift changes and West Loop restaurant traffic all share the Near West Side’s streets, so for a pickup here, timing and access matter more than the drive.

How to picture it

The community area sits directly west of the Loop across the Chicago River. Kinzie Street and the old railroad line are the north edge, the river is the east edge, 16th Street is the south edge and the former Chicago and North Western tracks mark the west side. Inside are several neighborhoods with names of their own:

• West Loop and Fulton Market: north of the Eisenhower and east of Ashland, old warehouses turned into lofts, offices and restaurants.
• Greektown: along Halsted Street between Van Buren and Madison.
• Little Italy and University Village: Taylor Street between Ashland and the Dan Ryan, plus the Roosevelt Square townhouses that replaced the ABLA homes.
• Illinois Medical District: 560 acres with four major hospitals: Rush, Stroger, University of Illinois Hospital and the Jesse Brown VA.
• Tri-Taylor: the triangle of late-1800s rowhouses between the Eisenhower, Ogden Avenue and the tracks west of Western.

West Town is north, East Garfield Park is west, Pilsen is south across 16th Street, and the Loop is east.

From our base

The center of the area, around Ashland and Jackson, is about 2.9 road miles from 2727 W Chicago Ave: east on Chicago Avenue to Damen, south to Madison, then over to Ashland. UIC is about 3.7 miles by the same route plus a short stretch on the Eisenhower, and Fulton Market is about 3.1 miles by way of Grand Avenue and Halsted. The Jane Byrne Interchange, where I-90/94 meets I-290, is inside the community area, which is handy for cars on the east side.

ZIP codes

The city’s boundary files put the west part, roughly west of Ashland, in 60612, the middle and east toward the river in 60607, and the strip between Roosevelt Road and 16th Street in 60608, with small pieces of 60661 and 60606 near the river.

Housing changes everything here

Two-thirds of homes on the Near West Side are in buildings of 20 or more units, and fewer than 4% are single-family detached houses, according to CMAP. About a third of households have no car. So a junk car here is less likely to be at the curb and more likely to be in a building garage, a deeded space in a condo lot, or a rented spot.

Tell us on the call:

1. Whether the car is street-parked, in a surface lot, or in a garage, and what level.
2. The building’s clearance height if it’s covered parking.
3. Who controls access: a doorman, a gate code, a management office.
4. Whether the car rolls and steers. Moving a dead car out of a tight garage is a different job than loading one from the street.

Tri-Taylor and parts of Little Italy are the exception, with rowhouses, two-flats and alleys like the rest of the West Side. Permit zones cover some blocks, such as parts of Monroe Street near Racine and Grenshaw Street.

City rules for stalled cars

• Winter Overnight Parking Ban: Madison Street, 3 to 7 a.m. from December 1 to April 1, under Municipal Code 9-64-060. Minimum $150 tow, $60 ticket and $25 a day in storage.
• Two-inch snow routes: under § 9-64-070, including Ashland, Damen, Western, Halsted, Madison, Jackson, Harrison and Roosevelt.
• Abandoned vehicles: § 9-80-110 treats a vehicle that can’t be driven, or hasn’t moved for more than 7 days and looks deserted, as abandoned. A hazardous dilapidated vehicle in public view can be ticketed and towed right away, even on private property, unless it’s inside a building. The last registered owner pays the towing and storage.

Selling it

Crash damage from city driving is common here; see wrecked and totaled cars. For access problems and how the tow works, see free junk car removal. And because garage cars are often described from memory, our guide to why junk car offers change is worth two minutes before you call.