Sell your car in Allentown: running, wrecked or won't start
Get a firm instant cash offer online. If you take it, the truck comes to you wherever the car is parked in Allentown: a driveway, a lot, or a curb in one of the city's seven residential permit zones. Listing it yourself instead? Start with the city's parking rules below.
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Three Allentown checks before the car goes
- Look the plate up with the Parking Authority. Its online Patron Portal shows unpaid tickets by license plate, and paying within 10 calendar days avoids late fees.
- Clear a boot before pickup day. A booted car isn't released until every fine owed to the Authority, boot and tow fees included, is paid in full, so settle the balance before the truck is booked.
- Settle the residential parking permit. A permit is good only for the plate number it was registered to, and a new plate voids it until the Authority has the new registration. Not replacing the car? Cancel auto-renew under "Your Permits" in the Patron Portal. The permit runs to the end of the month, with no refund for unused time.
Where we pick up around Allentown
Pickup covers every Allentown address, plus Bethlehem, Easton down to the Delaware, and Emmaus, with the boroughs and townships between them, such as Whitehall, Catasauqua and Macungie. Where in the Valley the car sits doesn't change the offer.
E-ZPass on the windshield? The whole Turnpike Northeast Extension, Lehigh Valley included, switched to Open Road Tolling on January 5, 2025: overhead gantries charge tolls as cars pass at highway speed, and the toll comes out of the account tied to the transponder. Take yours out before the car leaves, or the buyer's trips are billed to you.
Selling it yourself in Allentown
If the car waits on the street while you show it, keep its registration and inspection current. The Allentown Parking Authority fines a parked car that is missing either one, and the amounts are in the fine table below.
Want a public place to meet a buyer? The Allentown Police Department's Public Safety Building at 425 Hamilton St. has a report entrance on the College St. side that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with parking on Hamilton St. The non-emergency line is (610) 437-7751.
Or get cash for cars in Allentown, PA without a listing. The firm instant offer costs nothing, and it gives you a number to hold while you weigh any buyer's price.
Cash for your car in Allentown
Allentown gives a parked car 72 hours. Under a city ordinance, any vehicle left on a public street for longer than that may be treated as abandoned, and the Parking Authority can ticket it, boot it, and have it towed and impounded. A residential parking permit doesn't exempt it. Street cleaning also runs year-round in most of the city, so check the sign on your block, or call the city's Street Cleaning Hotline at (610) 437-7636.
Rusted, wrecked or dead at the curb, a junk car in Allentown still gets a firm instant offer. If you take it, the truck comes to you, so the car never has to move under its own power. If it's past fixing, our junk car page covers selling one.
After a crash, selling a car with accident damage covers what buyers check and what you have to tell them, and selling a totaled car explains the payout and the salvage title if your insurer writes it off. For a car that's dead at the curb with a blown engine, see selling a car with engine problems.
What a parked car can cost in Allentown
- •No current registration, or no current inspection: $45 each, climbing to $55 and then $90 if left unpaid (source)
- •Abandoned vehicle parked on public or private property: $50, climbing to $70 and then $120 if left unpaid (source)
- •Street cleaning: two or more tickets within 30 days make you a repeat offender, and the fine starts at $50 (source)
- •A damaged wheel-lock boot: up to $700 added to what you owe (source)
Asked by Allentown sellers
The car was in a crash in Allentown. Where do I get the police report?
In person, at the Traffic door on the College St. side of 425 Hamilton St., Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Copies are $15, paid by cash, check or money order made out to the City of Allentown, and you need a government-issued photo ID. By mail, send the request to the department's Traffic Office at the same address with a $15 check or money order payable to the City of Allentown and a self-addressed stamped envelope.
A snow emergency was declared and my car won't start. How long do I have?
Four hours. Allentown's snow rules put an emergency into effect four hours after it's declared, and one can only be declared between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. If your street is a posted snow emergency route, a car left there draws a $35 ticket, which climbs to $50 and then $100 if it goes unpaid. The city's snow hotline, (610) 437-7669, is updated through the storm.
My car died in my apartment complex's lot. Can the owner have it towed?
Yes, if the owner treats it as unauthorized. The Allentown Parking Authority says unauthorized vehicles on private property may be towed at the property owner's request, and that tow costs the owner $150. Ask the manager how long you have. The lot itself works fine as a pickup address.
Where do I pay Allentown parking tickets in person before I sell?
At the Parking Authority office, 603 W. Linden St. It's open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed weekends. It takes cash, checks, money orders and major cards, and you sign up for a payment plan there in person. You can park in the Allentown Transportation Center deck at 110 N. 6th St., attached to the building; the first 15 minutes are free.
Our Pennsylvania page explains the parts PennDOT sets for the whole state: signing the title before an authorized agent and what happens to your plate.