Sell your car in Omaha: running, hail-dented or not running
Hail has hit the Omaha metro three springs running, and the National Weather Service logged where it landed, which helps if a buyer asks when your dents happened. We make cash offers on Omaha cars as they sit, hail damage included, whether or not an insurance claim was ever filed.
Prefer a callback? Leave your number ↓
Offers powered by our buying partner — ★ 4.7 Trustpilot (205,000+ reviews) · ★ 4.5 Google (8,900+)
Selling a Council Bluffs car to someone in Omaha
- Iowa plates go back in Iowa. The Iowa DOT tells sellers to remove the plates and turn them in to their county treasurer's office. For a Council Bluffs car, that's the Pottawattamie County Treasurer, whose Motor Vehicle Department takes questions at (712) 328-5631 (City of Council Bluffs). Our out-of-state title guide covers the rest of the seller's side.
- The buyer's first stop is Chicago Street. Before Douglas County titles a car from Iowa, the car gets inspected at the Sheriff's Inspection Station, 8338 Chicago St., weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The county lists the fee as $10 (Douglas County Treasurer).
Where we pick up around Omaha
Pickup covers the metro on both sides of the Missouri River. In Omaha it runs from downtown out through Millard to Elkhorn. To the south and southwest it reaches Bellevue, Ralston and Gretna, and to the northwest and west, Bennington, Valley and Waterloo. Across the river, Council Bluffs is in range too. If the car is titled in Iowa, Iowa's steps apply to your side of the sale, as the section further down explains.
If the city tows it: cars go to the Impound Lot at 7809 F Street. It keeps weekday hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is closed weekends and city holidays. Storage is $20 a day, waived on weekends and city holidays (Omaha Police).
Cash for your car in Omaha
Omaha allows no vehicle to stay parked in one spot on the same block of a street for more than 48 hours, and one parked longer may be removed. A car on the street without current plates and registration counts as a public nuisance under a separate section (Omaha Municipal Code).
Old, wrecked, hail-dented and junk cars in Omaha all get offers. Each is collected from wherever it sits in the pickup area below, so nobody has to drive it anywhere. If a storm left body or glass damage, our damaged car guide covers selling it without repairs. If the car is past saving, see how a junk car sale works.
When hail damage is bad enough that the insurer declares the car a total loss, selling a totaled car explains the buyback choice and the salvage title. A car parked because it quit running is covered in selling a car with a blown engine or head gasket and selling a car with a slipping transmission.
Where hail landed around Omaha since 2024
- •May 21, 2024, early morning: hail from Bennington and Elkhorn east into the city, with a 1-inch stone measured in Omaha at 6:24 a.m. and 1.75-inch hail reported north of Council Bluffs (source)
- •April 17, 2025: 2.75-inch hail measured in Bennington at 6:52 p.m., from storms that dropped hail up to 4 inches across eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa (source)
- •May 15-18, 2026: 1-inch hail near Valley on the 15th, then quarter-size hail near Elkhorn on both the 17th and the 18th (source)
Asked by Omaha sellers
Can the city tow a junk car off my own driveway in Omaha?
It can, after a warning. The City Law Department says every vehicle has to be properly licensed, operable and parked on a paved surface. If one isn't, the owner gets notice and 10 days to fix it. After that, the city may tow it at the owner's expense (City of Omaha Law Department). City code also allows a car that poses an imminent danger to be removed right away, and Omaha police have given a car up on jacks as an example.
Where can I meet a buyer safely in Omaha?
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office set up an Exchange Area in the front parking lot of its Law Enforcement Center at 3601 N. 156th St., for online-sale meetups and other lawful exchanges. Look for the sign at the south end of the public lot. The area is on recorded video. The Sheriff's own tips: meet in daylight, and take cash rather than a personal check (Douglas County Sheriff).
Does a car I've stopped driving still owe Omaha's wheel tax?
As long as it stays licensed, it does, and city rules expect a car kept here to be licensed. The wheel tax is Omaha's own charge on top of state registration. Douglas County collects it at each plate renewal from anyone living in a tax district wholly or partly inside city limits. The basic fee is $50, and rates vary by type of vehicle. Active-duty military and full-time students with the right proof can get a $5 exemption sticker instead (City of Omaha Finance).
For a Nebraska title, the state's steps are on our Nebraska selling guide; the Iowa side is covered below.