Selling a junk or dead car in Columbia

Who sends the notice

Under Section 8-36, the chief of police or the housing officer issues a written notice when a lot or premises is "a present or potential hazard to the public health." The owner then has "a certain specified reasonable time" to clear it. The code sets no fixed number of days, so the deadline that counts is the one printed on your notice. Section 8-31 also brings in section 302.8 of the International Property Maintenance Code, which the city has adopted.

The boot, then the tow

Columbia can immobilize a car it has identified as a public nuisance instead of towing it at once (Section 12-53). The officer places a notice on the car warning that any attempt to move it "may result in damage." From there:

• If the problem is not fixed "within 48 hours, the vehicle shall be towed and impounded."
• The boot carries a $75 immobilization fee, separate from bonds, fines and storage.
• Towing and storage charges are the owner's responsibility.
• In Columbia, you may fight it by requesting a hearing with the city manager or a designee.

Unpaid tickets can get a car there too. Section 12-52 declares "a public nuisance" any car parked 24 hours or more in a metered space, city lot or city garage, or parked on any street or public property, that carries $100 or more in past-due parking bonds.

What a city tow can cost

Section 24-215 sets maximum wrecker charges when the city directs a tow or the owner never consented. These are legal ceilings, phased in over two years:

• Tow for a parking violation or abandonment: $150 in the first year, then $175 from the 366th day.
• Wrecker after an accident: $195, then $225.
• Owner arrives before the car is hauled off: $75, then $100, paid to the wrecker service.
• Storage: no more than $35 a day.

Release has two conditions: "No stored or impounded vehicle shall be released until proper evidence of ownership is exhibited and all towing and storage charges have been paid." Each day in storage adds to the bill. Towed or impounded covers what to bring.

State law underneath

State rules sit beneath all this. A car is abandoned after 48 hours left alone on a highway, or a full week on other land when whoever is in charge never agreed. Pulled motors, stripped ID numbers, and registrations lapsed past a car's eighth year can each make it derelict. Cars nobody claims may go to public auction under S.C. Code 29-15-10, and whoever wins gets title with the liens wiped away.

Three SCDMV branches we checked

Columbia spreads across Richland, Lexington and Kershaw counties. Distances run from downtown, as the crow flies:

• 228-A O'Neil Court, Columbia, SC 29223, 803-419-9403: about 3 miles northwest
• 122 Park Rd, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-356-8537: about 20 miles west
• 1056 Ehrenclou Drive, Camden, SC 29020, 803-432-4340: about 21 miles northeast

These are the ones we looked at; other branches may serve the city.

Signing the car over

The SCDMV advises Columbia buyers to confirm the seller is the one named on the title. If yours still shows someone else, start with car not in your name. The first assignment block takes the buyer's identity and home address, any lien holder, miles on the clock, sale figure, and date, followed by both parties' signatures. Once the Columbia sale is done, file Form 416 with SCDMV. Return the tag with Form 452 unless it goes on another vehicle of yours. Cancel the liability insurance once the plate is turned in.

Where a lender is still listed, SCDMV mails any replacement title to that lender, not you. A duplicate costs $15, and an extra $20 expedites an in-person request. Once Columbia repair bills reach 75% of the car's fair value, the law treats it as salvage. Cars worth $2,000 or less fall outside that section. Salvage title has more.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or contact us through the site with the car's model year, brand and model, rough mileage, if it starts, and how the title reads. Pickup is free anywhere in the US. We can load from a downtown parking garage, a neighborhood driveway, or a shop where repairs stalled. Lexington is about 18 miles away and Sumter about 30; the South Carolina page covers the state as a whole.