Selling a junk or dead car on Hilton Head Island

The tests in Section 12-1-412

The section lists circumstances in which the town treats a motor vehicle as abandoned. Any one is enough:

• It is "in a state of disrepair, partially dismantled, discarded or wrecked," or "incapable of self-propulsion."
• Its registration has expired, and the owner has moved from the address on file and "cannot be found after a reasonable search."
• Serial plates, the VIN, license plates or other ID have been removed "so as to nullify efforts to locate or identify" the owner.
• It is "more than seven (7) years old and does not bear a current license plate."
• It is left "on any public street or highway in the town for a period of more than forty-eight (48) hours."

The age test is the one that surprises people. A second car kept for guests, or one parked while a seasonal owner is away, can fail it with nothing wrong under the hood.

Towed, and maybe off the island

Section 12-3-413 lets the town have any vehicle identified as a public nuisance towed by "a commercial towing or wrecker service" and stored "in a safe place until claimed by the owner." The lot need not be on Hilton Head. Storage must be "in a secure lot in or within twenty-five (25) miles of the municipal limits of the town." Getting a towed car back can mean a trip over the bridges.

Each Hilton Head Island tow means two letters: the wrecker company and the storage yard both send registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. It goes to the last registered owner and every lender on record. A car that stays unclaimed can be auctioned, and whoever wins it at that sale gets a clean title, liens wiped.

Why there is little room on the island for dead cars

The island's land management ordinance, Section 16-10-103, sorts uses into classes. Two lines bear on a broken car:

• "The storage, recycling, and resale of inoperable vehicles or vehicle parts" is "considered a salvage and recycling facility," which falls under waste-related services.
• A towing business "may also include storage for towed vehicles, but may not include storage of junked, salvage, or inoperable vehicles or equipment."

So a tow yard on Hilton Head is not zoned as a parking place for junk. That is part of why a dead car here tends to leave the island one way or another.

When the insurer says total loss

South Carolina's salvage chapter turns on repair math: a car hits the line once fixing it would cost three quarters of its fair market value or more. Two kinds of car are carved out, antiques and anything valued at $2,000 or under. If an insurance company ends up with a car after a fire, a flood, a crash or some other loss, or pays out a total loss and lets the owner keep it, the insurer must hand the SCDMV the title along with a damage report. Kept a car the insurer totaled? See insurer totaled it and flood-damaged car.

The Beaufort office and your title

Island titles are issued by the SCDMV. We checked its Beaufort branch, 28 Munch Dr (843-379-8822), sitting roughly 16 miles north of mid-island as the crow flies. Beaufort County may have others.

Before you sign, confirm the title shows your own name. Then:

1. Fill in the first assignment. List who is buying and their street address, any lender, the odometer figure, the agreed price, the sale date, and add both signatures. No price line printed on it? Staple a bill of sale to it.
2. Send Form 416. South Carolina's Notice of Vehicle Sold can be mailed or handed in at a branch.
3. Keep the plate. Plates never pass to a buyer who is not on your title. Move the Hilton Head Island plate to your other car, or return it with Form 452.
4. End the liability policy once the plate is turned in.

A missing title costs $15 to replace, and in person you can pay an extra $20 to have it the same day. Where a lien is still open, the copy goes to the lender. A Hilton Head Island car at least twelve model years old, without a valid plate, and missing its engine or unable to run, may go to a demolisher or metals recycler if you sign an affirming form instead of a title. The no-title guide explains it.

Off the island

Bluffton is 11.3 miles away across the bridges. Past that, the towns with pages are far off: Charleston at 62.7 miles, North Charleston at 63.8 and Summerville at 65.1. The South Carolina page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. Describe the car, give the rough mileage, say if it still drives, and tell us the name printed on the title. Away for the season? Mention it. Pickup can be from a villa lot, a plantation-community driveway once gate access is set up, or the mainland yard where a tow left it.