Are old car keys worth any money?

Not on their own. A key is only useful with the car it fits, so it adds nothing as a separate item. Hand over every key, fob and valet key you find when the car is picked up; the next owner of the car or its parts can use them, and it saves a hunt for spares later.

Will a junk yard buy a car with no title?

Sometimes, depending on what other papers you have and the state's rules. In Illinois, scrap processors must collect documentary proof of ownership and two pieces of ID from a private seller. Tell us what you have, such as a registration card or an old bill of sale, and we'll say on the call whether it works for your car.

Which place gives you the most money for your car?

The one that prices the car as it really sits and doesn't take money back at the curb. With a keyless car, ask whether the quote already accounts for the missing key and for towing. Ours already allows for both: towing is free, and the offer doesn't expire while you hunt for papers.

Sell a Junk Car Without Keys

By Cash For Junk Cars Tim's LLC. Published November 6, 2026. Last updated November 6, 2026.

Can I sell a junk car without keys?

Yes. A key starts the car, but it doesn't prove you own it, so a missing key won't stop a sale. Cash For Junk Cars Tim's LLC buys Chicago junk cars without keys all the time; we plan the tow around a locked steering wheel or a car stuck in park, and the paperwork does the proving.

Call (872) 356-9663

Keys don’t prove ownership; papers do. Illinois requires a scrap processor buying a vehicle from a private person to record two forms of identification, one of them a driver’s license or state ID card, and to collect documentary proof of ownership such as a title (625 ILCS 5/5-401.3). Nowhere in that list is a key. So the question with a keyless car isn’t whether it can be sold. It’s how it gets onto the tow truck.

What a missing key actually changes

Four things, all of them mechanical:

The steering wheel may be locked. Most cars lock the column when the key comes out, so the front wheels can’t be turned to line the car up.
The transmission may be stuck in park. An automatic left in park won’t roll, and without the key there’s often no easy way to shift it.
The car can’t be driven to the curb. If it’s nose-in at the back of a garage, nobody can just back it out.
A club-style wheel lock may be on. If its key vanished with the car keys, say so, because that lock has to come off before the car moves.

None of that kills a sale. It changes how we hook the car up. We come in our own tow truck and plan the pickup around what the car will and won’t do, so tell us on the call if the car is in park, if the wheels are turned, or if it’s wedged in tight. Those few details save a second trip.

Read the VIN without the key

We need the VIN to price the car and to match it against your papers. You don’t have to open a door to get it. The 17-character number is visible through the lower left corner of the windshield, and it also appears on the registration card and often on the insurance card (NHTSA). A photo of the windshield plate, taken from outside, works fine.

Where the car sits matters more than the key

A keyless car on a flat street is easy. The same car behind a locked garage door in West Lawn, with the opener lost along with the keys, is a different job. Before the pickup, sort out access:

Leave the garage or gate open, or be there to open it.
If the car is in a repair shop lot, let the shop know we’re coming. Picking up from a shop is routine; arranging access with them is your part.
If it’s in an apartment or condo lot, check that the building lets a tow truck in.
Clear the trash cans or the snow pile out of the alley approach.

When the keys went missing in a break-in

On the Southwest Side, a lot of keyless cars come from a theft or an attempt: a cracked steering column, a punched ignition, a window taped over. If the car was stolen and recovered, it’s still yours, and it still sells on your title.

One thing to check first: tickets. If the car or its plates picked up Chicago parking tickets while it was stolen, the city lists that as a defense when you contest them (Chicago Department of Finance). Keep the police report number handy. Our guide to selling with tickets, a boot or an impound hold walks through the rest.

Push-button cars and dead fobs

A smart key that stopped working is the same as no key for our purposes. Leave the dead fob in the cup holder anyway. If the battery in the car is flat as well, the doors may not open electronically, so mention it; the mechanical key blade hidden inside many fobs can open the driver’s door even when the remote can’t.

The papers still matter

A key can’t stand in for a title, and neither can a spare remote. If the title is in a drawer somewhere, find it before the pickup. If it’s truly gone, tell us exactly what you have, whether that’s a registration card, a bill of sale from when you bought the car, or an insurance card. Illinois rules decide which papers are enough for a scrap sale, and we check your situation on the call before anyone drives out. Our page on cars without a title goes further into that.

A missing key also has nothing to do with price on its own. What sets the number is the car itself: its weight, its parts, its converter and how complete it is, which our junk car value guide breaks down. A car that hasn’t run in a year is no harder for us to buy than one that died last week, and our non-running cars page explains the pickup.

Book the pickup

Fill in the quote form with the year, make, model and where the car sits, or call (872) 356-9663 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. any day. We work from Western Avenue, a short drive from West Lawn out Pulaski and from New City up 47th Street.

Questions people ask us

Are old car keys worth any money?: Not on their own. A key is only useful with the car it fits, so it adds nothing as a separate item. Hand over every key, fob and valet key you find when the car is picked up; the next owner of the car or its parts can use them, and it saves a hunt for spares later.
Will a junk yard buy a car with no title?: Sometimes, depending on what other papers you have and the state's rules. In Illinois, scrap processors must collect documentary proof of ownership and two pieces of ID from a private seller. Tell us what you have, such as a registration card or an old bill of sale, and we'll say on the call whether it works for your car.
Which place gives you the most money for your car?: The one that prices the car as it really sits and doesn't take money back at the curb. With a keyless car, ask whether the quote already accounts for the missing key and for towing. Ours already allows for both: towing is free, and the offer doesn't expire while you hunt for papers.