West Elsdon is small, about 3 square kilometers (a little over a square mile), wedged between the rail tracks along Midway Airport’s east side and Central Park Avenue, with 59th Street on the south and Archer Heights to the north. Masters Cash for Junk Cars collects dead and damaged cars on every block of it, and because the area is so tight, a cross street usually tells the driver almost everything.
People here often call it West Lawn’s twin, and the two have plenty in common, Pulaski Road as a main street among them. Today West Elsdon has a clear Mexican-American majority alongside a shrinking Polish-American community.
Three miles, one road
This is about the simplest drive on our list. Starting at 79th and Pulaski, it’s close to three miles due north on Pulaski Road, with the turn coming near 56th Street. Total time is around six minutes on the map. Addresses closer to Cicero add a block or two of side streets. That short, straight route is a big reason same-day pickup often works here, though we won’t promise a time window before we’ve talked.
Orange Line stations and side-street parking
Two Orange Line stations bracket West Elsdon, and neither is inside it. Pulaski station, at Pulaski and 51st, is just north in Archer Heights. It has a bus terminal and a park-and-ride lot, and when it opened in 1993 it set off a parking dispute on the residential streets around it. Midway station, the end of the line, is in Garfield Ridge, but plenty of its riders come from West Elsdon and West Lawn.
What that means for a junk car: curb space near Pulaski station has been a sore point since it opened. If yours is parked near either one, tell us which side of the street it’s on, whether there’s room to pull alongside, and if a driveway is an option. A little detail on the phone saves the driver circling.
Where West Elsdon callers point us
Two old Catholic school buildings make good reference points. St. Turibius school, at 57th and Karlov, closed in 2013, but the building still stands next to St. Turibius church. A few blocks north, the former Lourdes girls’ high school, which covered 55th to 56th between Komensky and Karlov, is now Sor Juana Elementary, a Chicago public school. Either one plus a cross street is plenty.
Snow routes and the abandoned-car rule
Several of West Elsdon’s main streets are on the City’s list of 2-inch snow routes, which can be switched on once 2 inches of snow are down, whatever the date or time. Here that list includes Pulaski Road (52nd to 71st), 55th Street and 59th Street. The City’s winter parking restrictions page explains how it works. Cars parked along them during an active ban may be ticketed or moved.
The year-round issue is abandonment. The City’s abandoned vehicle criteria apply to a public-street car that can’t be driven, one that hasn’t moved for more than seven consecutive days and looks deserted, and one with no state registration for two days or more. Reports go through 311. If your car fits any of those, selling it before someone reports it is the cleaner option.
Selling your car, from first call to tow
- Call or send the form. Reach us at (708) 838-5553 or through get a cash offer. Describe the car honestly, including what doesn’t work.
- Sort the papers on the phone. Tell us whether you have the title, or a bill of sale, the registration or an insurance card instead. Illinois rules decide which of those can carry a scrap sale, and we’ll tell you where you stand before anything is booked.
- Accept the offer, then pick a pickup. Same-day is often doable.
- Hand over the keys, if there are any. We load the car with no tow charge, and you’re paid before the truck pulls away.
We buy cars that won’t start or move, cars with crash damage, and cars that came out of a flood or fire. If an insurer has called yours a total loss, see wrecked and totaled cars. If you’re trying to understand why two buyers gave you different numbers, our guide on why junk car offers differ is worth five minutes.
The areas around West Elsdon
South across 59th Street is West Lawn. Archer Heights is directly north, home to the Pulaski station. Go east past Central Park Avenue and you’re in Gage Park, and west across the tracks is Garfield Ridge and the airport. The rest of our coverage is on the service areas page.
Map of West Elsdon
West Elsdon questions
Which ZIP codes cover West Elsdon?
Two. Going by the City's ZIP and community area boundaries, a little over half of West Elsdon is in 60629 and the rest is in 60632. The pickup works the same in both, so you don't need to know your ZIP before calling. The street address or nearest cross streets are what we need.
My car is on a side street by the Pulaski Orange Line stop. Is that a problem?
Not for us. The station is at Pulaski Road and 51st Street, just over the line in Archer Heights, and we buy cars on both sides of it. When it opened in 1993 it set off a fight over parking on nearby side streets, so tell us exactly where the car sits and whether a truck can pull up next to it.
Will you take a car that's been sitting for months?
Yes. Cars that haven't moved in ages, with flat tires, a dead battery or rust, are normal for us. If it's on the street, though, don't let it go on. Chicago can treat a street car left unmoved past seven days in a row, looking deserted, as abandoned, and the City tows those.