Greenville's junk car rules, and selling yours whole

What counts as junk here

Section 16-61 defines a junk motor vehicle as one "incapable of self-propulsion or being moved in the manner for which it was originally intended," or one that is "wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative or discarded, or which cannot safely or legally be operated." That last clause can reach a car that still starts but cannot legally go on the road.

The same section sets the city's other two labels:

• Abandoned: "left unattended on a highway for more than 48 hours," or kept on other property "for a period of more than seven days without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property."
• Derelict: among other tests, a car "Whose certificate of registration has expired and the registered owner no longer resides at the address listed" on its last registration, or whose motor or other major parts have been removed.

Section 16-62 bars abandoning a car on private property. It also bars an owner or occupant from choosing "to permit the abandonment thereupon."

The notice and the 20 days

Under Section 16-65, the person responsible, the property owner, or the registered owner gets notice to remove and dispose of the car "at his own expense." If nobody acts in time, the city may move it from public property to a storage area.

Private land is handled differently. The city must have written permission from the car's registered owner, or from the property's owner, lessee or occupant. The exception is when an authorized official has called the car a safety hazard "after due notice and hearing."

While Greenville holds the car, its owner can reclaim it with proof of ownership and payment of the removal, storage and administrative charges. If nobody comes, it "may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of in summary manner after 20 days," after which the state DMV gets a junk-vehicle report.

Streets are not storage

Section 42-91 says "No vehicle shall be parked on any street except when such parking is incidental to the use and operation of the vehicle." It also bars garages, dealers and others from storing cars on the street. It is hard to call a car in use when it won't even start.

Five tickets and a boot

Section 42-94 lets the city boot a car parked on a street or public grounds once it has five or more unpaid or unsettled parking or traffic citations, provided the owner was warned on the citations or by mail. If the car is "not released within 24 hours," the city or its tow provider may take it, and the towing cost is added to what is owed. Release takes payment of the parking fines, late fees, towing and storage, and the owner can request a hearing afterward. Tickets or registration hold explains how old citations follow a car.

State law alongside

South Carolina lets officers, including municipal code enforcement, tag abandoned and derelict cars, and a colored tag on the car serves as notice. Tows nobody claims may be sold at auction. Whoever wins the Greenville bid receives a magistrate's order of sale plus a lien-free title.

SCDMV on Saluda Dam Road

Our check covered the SCDMV office on Saluda Dam Road (No. 15, Greenville, SC 29611; 864-241-1147), about 6 miles west of downtown in a straight line. Greenville County may have other offices.

Selling means completing the title's first assignment: buyer and address, lender if any, mileage, price, date, two signatures. Titles lacking a price line travel with a bill of sale. The SCDMV then needs Form 416. Your tag either goes onto another of your cars or back to the state on Form 452, after which the policy can be canceled. The buyer has 45 days to register the car.

A lost title costs $15 to replace. If money is still owed on the car, the duplicate is mailed to the lienholder; see lien still on the title.

Getting an offer

Selling a dead car in Greenville? Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Pickup is free anywhere in the US: by the Reedy River downtown, in a neighborhood driveway, or at a repair shop. Mauldin is about 5 miles away and Greer about 10; the South Carolina page has the statewide rules.