Fort Mill's seven-day limit on dead cars

How the town defines it

Section 16-36 calls a car abandoned when the owner has given up control, shown by a combination of signs:

• it is inoperative, or left unattended on public or private property, for seven days or more
• it sits illegally for seven days or more
• its "registration has expired and insurance coverage is not up to date"
• major parts are gone, so it is inoperable and "incapable of passing a state inspection"

A junk vehicle is one that is abandoned, wrecked or partly dismantled and "has no apparent value other than for scrap or parts." The word vehicle is broad here: automobile, truck, trailer, tractor, buggy and motorcycle all count.

Why the town calls it a nuisance

Section 16-37 gives the reasons in plain terms. Such cars "can harbor diseases, provide breeding places for vermin, present physical danger for children," create fire hazards and pull down property values. The section declares their storage on public or private land "a public nuisance which may be abated as such," in addition to any other remedy the law provides.

The zoning code repeats the point. Section 2 of its nuisance article bars keeping "abandoned, junk or inoperable vehicles" that become a nuisance or a breeding ground for vermin and mosquitoes. Cars kept "in completely enclosed buildings or in a structure attached to a completely enclosed building" are exempt.

State law for the street

State law adds a separate highway clock: two days (48 hours) left alone there and a car is abandoned. An unregistered car older than eight years can be classed derelict. Officers can tag both, then have them hauled from any property.

The York County title office we checked

For York County we checked the SCDMV office over in Rock Hill, 305 Hands Mill Road (zip 29732), reached at 803-329-6332. It sits roughly 9 miles due west of central Fort Mill, measured straight. The county may have other offices as well.

A South Carolina sale takes three steps. On the first assignment of your Fort Mill title, write the buyer's name and address, any lienholder, mileage, price and date, and both of you sign. If the title has no price box, add a bill of sale. Send in Form 416 to report the sale. Then handle the plate: transfer it to another car or surrender it, using Form 452 if you send it back with the sold notice, and cancel the liability policy. After you sell covers the rest.

Scrapping something old without a title is possible too. The state requires that it be lawfully yours, at least twelve model years of age, missing a valid plate, and either engineless or unable to run in any way; you then sign an affirmation that the demolisher keeps on file. Otherwise, order a $15 duplicate first.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or use the online form. Our quick form handles the details on your Fort Mill car. Pickup is free anywhere in the US, from a garage or carport to a lot near the Main Street historic district. Rock Hill is about 6.5 miles away and Columbia about 67; the South Carolina page has the statewide picture.