Sell your car in Iowa City: running, broken down or damaged in a crash
Get a cash offer for your car and free pickup, timed around your dates. Until the car is gone, two sets of local rules can cost you money: the City of Iowa City's rules for cars that don't run, and the University of Iowa's parking permit billing.
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Closing out a UI parking permit when the car is sold
- Keep the permit out of the deal. UI's parking rules prohibit giving, selling or transferring a permit to another person, and your license plate serves as the permit.
- Cancel with the date the car left. The Cancel Permit Form asks for your last day of parking. UI bills a permit until it is canceled or expires and grants no refunds for backdated cancellations, so file the form on the day of pickup.
- Mind the 15th. Cancel on the 1st through the 15th and your final charge is half a month; from the 16th on, it is a full month. Refunds go back to the original payment method; allow 7 to 10 business days.
Where we pick up around Iowa City
Pickup is free from Solon down to Kalona and the towns in between. That covers Iowa City itself, from campus (52242) to rentals on the south side, plus Coralville (52241) and North Liberty. A dorm lot, a hospital ramp or an apartment complex all work: tell us where the car is parked and any gate codes, and the driver handles the rest. You sign and hand over the keys.
Car in Lot 39? The Hawkeye Storage lot sits about two miles west of main campus, off Melrose Avenue on Hawkeye Park Road. GPS maps call it the Hawkeye Commuter Lot, and its northeast part is a different lot, so put "Lot 39" in the car's details.
Cash for your car in Iowa City
Iowa City's rule on inoperable cars covers more than a dead engine. A vehicle counts as inoperable or obsolete if it has a broken windshield or other broken glass, a broken door, fender, bumper or hood, a missing engine or wheel, or if it can't move both forward and in reverse. The city prohibits keeping one on private property for more than 48 hours (City of Iowa City).
When the city gets a complaint, an inspector from Neighborhood and Development Services checks it and posts the car and the property. The property owner then has 48 hours to move it. Next comes a Notice to Abate with 10 more days, and after that the city tows the car at the owner's expense. If you would rather sell your junk car in Iowa City than wait on a notice, ask for an offer on it as it sits. Pickup is free for these cars too.
If the car won't go into reverse, or a blown head gasket stopped it for good, selling a car with a bad transmission and selling a car with a blown head gasket help you judge whether it's worth fixing. For broken glass or a broken fender after a crash, see selling an accident-damaged car.
Titles in Iowa City, licenses in Coralville
- •Iowa DMV work is split between two buildings here. Titles and plates go through the Johnson County Treasurer's Motor Vehicle Department at 913 S. Dubuque Street. It opens at 8 a.m. on weekdays (10 a.m. on the second Tuesday of the month), and title transfers need you there by 4:30 p.m. (Johnson County)
- •The county office does not issue driver's licenses. Iowa DOT's Coralville DMV at 2303 Jones Blvd. does (iowadot.gov)
- •University of Iowa parking permits are handled by Parking and Transportation at the West Campus Transportation Center, 319-335-1475 (University of Iowa)
Asked by Iowa City sellers
Does a Hawkeye Storage permit renew if the car is sold over winter break?
Yes, on January 1, unless you cancel before then. Lot 39 permits run August 16 to May 15 and are billed by semester, and the spring charge renews on January 1. At the rates that began July 1, 2026, a semester costs $247.50. The permit is only for students living in a residence hall, and it is canceled if you move out of one.
I work for the University of Iowa. What happens to my permit when I sell the car?
Employee virtual permits don't expire, and the fees apply until you cancel. UI's rules make plate and ownership changes the employee's job, so update the permit when the car goes. Replacing the car? You can add the new one in the Parking Portal instead of canceling: employees may list up to three vehicles on a permit, with only one parked at a time.
What happens if a snow emergency is declared while a car that won't start is on the street?
Outside the downtown Central Business District, streets that allow parking on both sides switch to one side: odd-numbered addresses on odd dates, even on even dates. A car that can't be moved to the allowed side is ticketed and towed, with a $50 fine per incident plus the cost of towing and storage. The city gives at least four hours' notice, and 319-356-5000 plays a recorded message when an emergency is declared.
Can junk cars in Iowa City sit on the grass until pickup?
No. Iowa City's off-street parking ordinance requires vehicles on private property to be parked on a hard surface such as concrete or asphalt, and parking on grass is specifically prohibited. Gravel areas created before 1974 can still be used if they are maintained, but new ones can't be made. A car that blocks a public sidewalk will be ticketed.
Title signing and plates follow statewide rules, so our Iowa page covers them.