Aiken's dead-car rules, and selling the car whole

Ten days, then a 30-day warning

Section 10-11 is aimed at anyone "allowing any partially dismantled, wrecked, junked, discarded or otherwise nonoperating motor vehicle or motor vehicle parts to remain on such property longer than ten days." Cars inside an enclosed building are outside it. So are cars kept by a lawful Aiken business that needs them, as long as it operates away from residential areas.

The next step is a warning, not a tow. If staff find a nuisance that is not an emergency, the building official issues a formal written warning to fix it "within 30 calendar days of the date of the warning." If you have been trying and cannot finish, the official may grant "an additional 30 days before issuing the summons." After the deadline passes, the city may remove the nuisance itself. When the official finds an imminent hazard, none of those steps apply.

The property maintenance rules in Section 10-4 also bar keeping a "junked vehicle or vehicle parts" outside a building unless privacy fencing hides it from the street.

Derelict, abandoned, and the 48-hour street rule

Section 42-79 calls a car derelict when its motor or major parts are in disrepair or gone "so as either to render the vehicle inoperable," when its serial plates or VIN have been removed, or when it is "incapable of self-propulsion." Abandoned means left on a right-of-way "for more than 48 hours," or on other property "for a period of more than seven days" without the property owner's consent.

On the street, Section 42-81 sets a hard cap: no vehicle may stay in a public parking area, street or right-of-way "for a period of time exceeding 48 consecutive hours." Owners should get notice to remove an abandoned car, but the city "may remove these vehicles without prior notice" when one is a safety hazard. After a tow, the code says the last registered owner should get a registered letter within seven days that describes the car, says where it is and explains how to reclaim it. The owner pays "all towing, removal, and storage costs." Section 42-72 adds that blaming whoever parked it is no defense unless the car was stolen.

Title and plates

The SCDMV branch we checked for Aiken County, at 1755 Richland Ave East (803-641-7752), sits about 2 miles northeast of central Aiken as the crow flies. Other offices in the county may exist.

Titles here come from the state, not Aiken County. In the assignment section you fill in the buyer's name and street address, any lienholder, the odometer miles, the price and the date, and both of you sign. If your title has no line for the price, add a bill of sale. Then mail the SCDMV its Form 416, the Notice of Vehicle Sold, or hand it in at the Richland Ave counter. Unscrew the plate before the car rolls away. One not headed for another of your cars is surrendered on Form 452, after which the liability policy can be cancelled. A replacement title is $15; junk car with no title covers that route, and after you sell covers the rest.

Nearby towns

North Augusta, 13.3 straight-line miles off, shares the Augusta metro with Aiken. Lexington is 43.0 miles away and Columbia 58.7. The South Carolina page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or begin online. Reach out about your Aiken car and our offer form covers the details. You sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US. The truck can meet it under the tarp in the side yard, in an Aiken carport, or at the garage where it gave out.