Selling a junk car with no keys

Keys disappear. A relative moves away and nobody knows which drawer they’re in, a car gets towed home after a crash and the key ring stays at the body shop, or the only fob dies and the car won’t even unlock. If the car is junk anyway, the question is whether that stops the sale.

It doesn’t. It changes how the car is moved, and sometimes what it’s worth.

Why the key isn’t part of the sale

Illinois ties ownership to paper, not to who holds the key. When a license-holding scrap processor buys a vehicle from someone who isn’t a dealer, the law asks for a certificate of title, a salvage certificate, a junking certificate or similar documentary proof of ownership, plus two forms of ID from the seller. That list is in 625 ILCS 5/5-401.3. Keys aren’t on it.

So the paperwork for a keyless car is the same as for any other: the title signed over, and your ID. If the title is missing too, read selling a car without a title first, because that’s the part that can actually hold up a sale.

What missing keys do change

Moving the car. A car with no key is often locked in park, with the steering wheel locked as well. It can’t be rolled out of a garage or pushed to the curb, and the front wheels may be stuck turned to one side. The tow has to lift it or put the locked wheels on dollies. AAA’s towing guide warns that pulling a car with a wheel-lift truck “could damage ground wheels if they are locked before towing” (AAA), which is why we ask how the car sits.

Getting inside. If the doors are locked, nobody can shift it into neutral or check the interior. That’s usually fine for a junk car, but tell us so we come prepared.

Reading the VIN. Before a license-holding recycler takes a used vehicle, it has to inspect the vehicle identification number, and a tampered VIN means it can’t take the car (625 ILCS 5/5-401.2). On most cars the VIN plate sits at the base of the windshield on the driver’s side. Keep it uncovered, and have the VIN from the title or registration ready when you call.

The offer. For a car that’s dead anyway, keys rarely matter much. For one that would start and drive with a key, they can, because whoever ends up with the car has to replace them. That’s a real cost, so we ask rather than guess. Our guide to why junk car offers change explains why describing this up front keeps the number steady.

Should you replace the key first?

For a junk car, usually not. A plain metal key can be cheap to cut, but many cars since the late 1990s use a chip or a fob that has to be programmed to the car, and a dealer or locksmith will want proof that you own it. That can cost more than the key adds to a car that’s going to scrap.

It’s worth a call to a locksmith only when:

• the car runs and you’re thinking about selling it privately or trading it in (compare the routes in junk it, sell it or trade it in);
• you need to get inside to remove belongings you can’t reach any other way.

Otherwise, sell it as it is.

Keyless cars in tight spots

On the West Side, a keyless car is often also a stuck car: in a garage off the alley, behind a two-flat, or nose-in to a wall in an apartment lot. Locked in park, it can’t be pushed out to where a truck can reach. Our guide to getting a dead car out of an alley garage covers measuring the door, the apron and the alley before pickup.

What to tell us on the call

1. Which keys are missing: all of them, the fob only, or the trunk key.
2. Whether the doors are locked.
3. Whether the car is in park, and if the steering is locked with the wheels turned.
4. Push-button start or a regular ignition.
5. Where it’s parked and how a truck reaches it.
6. What papers you have: title, registration, lien release.

With that, we can give you an offer that holds. Send the form on this page, or call (872) 356-9799 and say the car has no keys.