We get this call more than you’d think. The car has a boot on the wheel, it was going to be junked anyway, and the owner wonders if a buyer can just take it, boot and all.
The short answer is no. The longer answer explains what you can do instead.
Why a buyer can’t take a booted car
A boot is the city’s lock on the car. Removing or damaging it is not something a tow driver can do, and towing a car with a boot on would mean towing city property. So no legitimate buyer will touch it until the city releases it.
The clock is also short. The city’s Department of Administrative Hearings FAQ says a booted vehicle will be towed 24 hours after the boot is placed.
Why selling doesn’t make the tickets go away
Chicago boots a vehicle when its owner has enough unpaid final determinations: three or more for parking or compliance violations less than a year old, or two or more that are a year or older, per the same FAQ. Those debts are tied to you as the registered owner. The Department of Finance notes that boot, tow and storage fees come on top of all final-determination tickets for any vehicle registered in your name, and that signing a vehicle over to the city doesn’t wipe out what you owe. Selling the car to anyone works the same way: the car leaves, the debt stays.
Your realistic options
- Request a hearing quickly if you think the boot is wrong, for example if the tickets were paid or the notice went to the wrong address. You have 21 days, but the tow comes after 24 hours.
- Pay or enter a payment plan. The Department of Finance offers a payment plan for booted vehicles; its towed vehicle page says the first payment must be made in person, by cash or card, and lists a $100 boot fee for passenger vehicles.
- Then decide about the car. Once the boot is off, the car is yours to keep or sell. If it was already a junk car, selling it right away means it can’t collect more tickets. We tow it free and pay at pickup.
Already at the pound?
The city keeps a towed car at the pound for 21 days before it can be auctioned or destroyed, according to the Department of Finance, and you can ask for a 15-day extension. Fees keep adding up while it sits there. If the car is worth less than the release fees, letting it go is a real option, but the tickets on your name remain either way.
Avoiding the next boot
A dead car on the street is a ticket magnet: expired registration, a winter ban street, street cleaning. If the car isn’t going to run again, getting it off the street early is the cheapest move. See our guide to a dead car on a winter ban street, and if the boot is off and the car is wrecked or dead, read how we buy wrecked cars.
Boot off and ready to sell? Get an offer.