Sell your car in Milwaukee: running, won't start or damaged by thieves
If you want to sell your car in Milwaukee, WI, and it no longer runs, check where it's parked. A car left in one street spot for more than 24 hours can get an orange tow placard, and it's towed if it hasn't moved 72 hours later. Get a cash offer online, and we'll pick the car up for free.
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Get the number, then clear the City snags
- Get your number. Two minutes on the form or a call to (877) 405-1808. Describe the car as it is, broken column and all, for a firm cash offer. We come to you anywhere in Milwaukee County, and you're paid at pickup.
- Check for old parking tickets. Since Jan. 1, 2026, a car with five or more City parking tickets more than 60 days past due can be towed even when it's parked legally. The Violations Bureau at (414) 344-0840 sets up payment plans for balances of $100 or more, which end tow eligibility within three business days of the first payment.
- Leave the plates on until the truck is there. The City tows cars from its streets that are unregistered or don't properly display license plates, so a car waiting at the curb should keep its plates until pickup.
Where we pick up around Milwaukee
Free pickup covers every city and village in Milwaukee County, from downtown (53202), Wauwatosa and West Allis to Oak Creek (53154), and reaches west past the county line to Brookfield and Waukesha (53186).
Is the title in the glove box? Milwaukee Police advise never leaving the title or registration in a car, because thieves use it to sell the stolen vehicle. Keep it in the house until pickup day.
Selling a Kia or Hyundai that thieves got to
In 2021, car thefts in Milwaukee surged toward a record. Of the 5,144 cars stolen in the city through July 11 that year, Kias (1,720) and Hyundais (1,714) made up two-thirds. The cars at risk were Kias from 2011 on and Hyundais from 2015 on, most of them built without an immobilizer in the key, as Urban Milwaukee reported.
If police are holding your recovered car as evidence, the City Tow Lot won't let anyone view it, photograph it or disturb what's inside, and it refers owners to Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7547. Once you have it back, you can sell it with a broken column or a punched ignition, whether the title is clean or salvage.
Cash for your car in Milwaukee
Once the City tows a junk car in Milwaukee, the owner gets a notice, and a car that isn't claimed within 15 days of it may be recycled. You don't need to get a dead car started or towed anywhere to sell it. Pickup handles the loading.
At a house, the Department of Neighborhood Services sets the rules. A car that isn't currently licensed can't be parked outside an enclosed garage or shed, and no car may sit on grass or dirt, only on cement, asphalt or a gravel driveway that has been there since before 1973. A car that breaks either rule can still bring cash for junk cars in Milwaukee, with free pickup from wherever it's parked.
Damage from thieves or a crash is covered in selling a damaged car, and if the insurer totaled it, selling a totaled car explains the payout and the salvage title. For a car that's dead from a blown engine or a transmission stuck in limp mode, see selling a car with engine problems or selling a car with a bad transmission.
What a car that sits can cost in Milwaukee
- •$150 — for a City tow to the Tow Lot (in effect since Feb. 24, 2024), plus $25 for each calendar day the car sits in storage (City of Milwaukee Tow Lot)
- •$50, $100, $150 — for a first, second and third winter parking violation, and the third makes the car eligible for towing (City of Milwaukee parking regulations)
- •$41 + $30 — the City of Milwaukee's wheel tax and Milwaukee County's, collected by WisDOT with the registration fee at every renewal (WisDOT wheel tax list)
Asked by Milwaukee sellers
Can I park my car on a Milwaukee street with a For Sale sign?
Only with a certificate from the Department of Public Works, one per car. You apply in person at the City Tow Lot, 3811 W. Lincoln Ave., as the owner, with a valid driver's license and the title. It costs $40, cash or Visa or MasterCard, and lasts six months.
What are Milwaukee's overnight street parking rules?
From 2 to 6 a.m., Monday through Saturday, City streets are off-limits without an overnight permit or temporary night parking permission. With either one, the car must be on the side with even house numbers on even calendar days and the odd side on odd days. Permission is free for up to three nights in 30 days. Pickup usually happens within a day or two of an accepted offer, depending on the schedule and where you are in the county. Tell us about street parking or work shifts and we'll plan around it.
My car is at the City Tow Lot and won't start. How does it leave?
On a private tow. The owner arranges one and releases the car to that tow company by telling the cashier and signing the paperwork. Towing and storage fees must be paid in full first. Anyone going for you needs your notarized letter naming the car's VIN, plate and tow number. The lot is open weekdays 8:30 to 4:30 and Saturdays 9 to 1.
The City put a condemned sticker on the junk car at my house. How long do I have?
About a week. A Department of Neighborhood Services inspector who finds a nuisance vehicle, such as a damaged, unsecured or partly dismantled car, sends the property owner an order and puts a condemned sticker on it. About seven days later the car is reinspected. If nothing has changed, Public Works tows it, and the cost lands on the property owner's tax bill. We buy junk cars in Milwaukee with the sticker still on.
Where do I replace a lost title in Milwaukee before I sell?
At a Wisconsin DMV customer service center. The city has four: Central (2701 S. Chase Ave.), Downtown (819 N. 6th St.), Northeast (6073 N. Teutonia Ave.) and Northwest (7301 W. Mill Road). Mill Road and the Southwest center in Greendale also open Saturdays from 8:30 to noon. Not every center offers every service, so check WisDOT's Find My DMV tool first.
WisDOT's rules for signing over the title are on our Wisconsin page.