Mount Pleasant tow rules, state law and selling a dead car

Getting a towed car out, Section 112.31

The towing contractor works under these rules:

• A car the police marked "hold" stays put until the department gives written authorization. If it sits on hold more than three days, the contractor must tell the police.
• Any other car is released on "proof of ownership by a tow sheet, title, or registration" together with proper identification.
• You get an itemized statement of the towing and impound charges.
• Collect it promptly: "An owner may be subject to additional storage fees if the vehicle is not removed from the storage facility within 24 hours of payment."

If the bill is more than the car is worth, towed or impounded walks through the choices.

A dead car in the yard: state law

We did not find a Mount Pleasant rule on inoperable cars on private property in the code we checked. The town might have its own rules too, so check with it before you rely on any time limit. South Carolina law reaches every town, and it sorts problem cars into two groups:

• Abandoned: Mount Pleasant applies this to an untended car left over 48 hours on a highway. On private or other public land it takes over seven days without the controller's permission.
• Derelict: among other things, a car stripped of its motor, major parts or ID, one whose registration ran out after the owner left, and any car past eight years of age that lacks current registration.

Either kind can be hauled off public or private land under state law, and town code officers are among the people allowed to tag one. That warning usually arrives as a colored tag on the windshield or body. For a Mount Pleasant tow, the towing company and the lot each mail its last registered owner and every lienholder, registered or certified, return receipt included. Unclaimed cars can end up at public auction.

The eight-year line is the one Mount Pleasant owners are most likely to cross without noticing. A car past eight years old that has gone without registration fits the derelict definition even while it sits in its own driveway.

Title and plates in Mount Pleasant

The SCDMV handles South Carolina titles, and Charleston County sends the property tax bill that a buyer needs to register. Hand over a title whose first assignment shows the new owner, where they live, the lien holder, the odometer, the sale figure and the date, signed by you both. Attach a bill of sale when there is no price line. Anyone buying in Mount Pleasant should make sure the seller's own name is on the title. Still not in yours? See car not in your name.

Mailing Form 416, the state's Notice of Vehicle Sold, means no branch trip. Move the plate to another vehicle in your name, or surrender it on Form 452, then call your insurer to cancel liability coverage. A lost title is $15 to replace.

Nearby towns

Charleston is 6.4 straight-line miles from Mount Pleasant. Hanahan is 11.6, North Charleston 13.9, and Goose Creek 15.4. The South Carolina page covers statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Dial (877) 421-6008 or request an offer online. For a Mount Pleasant car, the offer form covers the details. You sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US. The truck can load it from a Mount Pleasant driveway, a garage, or the tow lot once it is released.