Hammond junk car removal, straight across the state line

Will you tow a junk car out of Hammond even though you're based in Illinois?

Yes. Cash For Junk Cars Junk My Car Inc sends trucks from Orland Hills over the state line into Hammond, anywhere from Robertsdale and North Hammond to Woodmar and Hessville. The tow is free and nothing comes off the offer for it. You're paid at pickup by Zelle, Cash App or cash once the car is on the truck.

Crossing into Hammond from Orland Hills

Hammond is the only city in Indiana that shares a border with Chicago. On the Illinois side it also meets Burnham, Calumet City and Lansing, so it is the first Indiana city our trucks reach after leaving Orland Hills. It is also big: 77,879 people at the 2020 census, spread from Lake Michigan down to the Little Calumet River. When you book, the neighbourhood helps us more than the ZIP code does, whether that is Robertsdale, North Hammond, Central or South Hammond, Woodmar, Schleicher or Hessville.

The clock doesn’t change at the line. Lake County keeps Central time like Chicago, so the hours shown on this page are Hammond hours too.

Two deadlines in the Hammond code

Two separate chapters can reach a dead car parked on private property, and they run on different clocks. Section 98.21 makes it unlawful to keep a junk motor vehicle, or its parts, exposed to public view on a residential or business lot for more than 30 days. If an inspector orders it removed, you have 10 days; ignore the order and the city tows it at your expense and holds it for at least 60 days (§§ 98.22 to 98.23).

The tighter test sits in Chapter 106. A car that is 6 or more model years old, mechanically inoperable and visible from public property counts as abandoned after just 3 days on private land, cover or no cover. On a public street, 3 days without moving is enough, and so is a missing engine or transmission.

Neither clock matters once the car is gone. Ask for an offer that doesn’t expire, decide in your own time, and we book the free tow when you say yes. If you want to know what moves the number, this piece on how junk car offers are set explains it.

Borman, Toll Road and the address grid

Road	Hammond exits
Borman Expressway (I-80/94)	Calumet Ave, Indianapolis Blvd, Kennedy Ave, Cline Ave
Indiana Toll Road (I-90)	Indianapolis Blvd, Calumet Ave, Cline Ave

Inside the city the route numbers hide behind street names. US 41 is both Calumet Avenue and Indianapolis Boulevard, US 20 runs as Michigan Street and West 5th Avenue, and SR 312 is Chicago Avenue. Hammond also numbers its addresses on the Chicago grid with the leading 1 dropped, which is why house numbers here have four digits. A house number plus the nearest cross street is all the driver needs.

Driveways, flats and sweeping days

Most of the city is houses: 72.8% of homes are single-family detached, so a typical pickup is from a driveway or the curb out front. The rest are flats, 9.1% in two- to four-unit buildings and 13.4% in larger ones. If the car is at the curb on a sweeping day, watch for the signs. Under § 72.009 they go up by 4 p.m., and anything still parked at 7 a.m. the next morning can be towed.

Title, duplicate or certificate in Indiana

Indiana is stricter about scrap sales than Illinois. A recycler here can only take a junk car with its title, a duplicate title from the BMV, or a BMV certificate of authority, and the car’s age doesn’t change that. The no-title route exists only for cars at least 15 model years old, and only when the seller holds that certificate of authority. A car younger than 15 model years with neither paper is one we can’t take: Indiana makes buying it a Level 6 felony for the buyer. Tell us what you have and we’ll say on the call which route fits. Our guide to selling without a title covers the rules in both states.

Hammond’s neighbours on our run

South of the Little Calumet, Hammond gives way to Munster and Highland, both on our Indiana map. Whiting, East Chicago and Gary are its other Indiana neighbours. West across the line, the same trucks work Lansing and Dolton, the next village past Calumet City. The Indiana section of our coverage page shows where the map stops.

Questions we hear in Hammond