North Augusta: the carport rule and selling a dead car

The inoperable-vehicle rule, Section 22-64

Three things put a car in breach on a residential lot: it does not run, it has no current plate, or it lacks a current inspection sticker. The code still uses that sticker wording, while the state records a 1993-94 bill as "Motor vehicle inspections, repealed." If the sticker clause is the only issue, ask the city how it applies it now.

When the city spots a violation, an authorized representative delivers written notice to whoever owns or lawfully controls the lot, directing that the car be moved. If nobody can be found there, "the posting of the notice on the premises for seven (7) days shall be considered effective notice." So a notice left on the property counts as served once a week has passed.

If the car stays put, the city "may forthwith impound and remove such vehicle." It stays impounded "until all costs, charges, penalties, and/or fines due the City of North Augusta" are paid.

Streets are for driving, not storage

Section 22-43 allows parking on a street only when it is "incidental to the use and operation of the vehicle," and bans storing vehicles there. A North Augusta car parked at the curb since spring fails that test. Under Section 22-53, an officer can have an unattended car taken to a garage, and "all reasonable charges for towing and storage shall be paid by the owner prior to such vehicle being reclaimed."

For a car found abandoned on a street, Section 22-54 has public safety tow it to a designated garage and notify the registered owner: in person for a city resident, by registered or certified mail otherwise. If no address turns up, the director advertises the car. One nobody reclaims "shall be sold at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash."

Two counties, two SCDMV offices

North Augusta sits in both Aiken County and Edgefield County. We checked two SCDMV offices, and the counties may have others:

• Richland Ave East in Aiken, number 1755, phone 803-641-7752: roughly 15 miles east of central North Augusta, as the crow flies
• Highway 25 North in Edgefield, number 849, phone 803-637-3113: about 20 miles north in a straight line

You may not need either one. Every South Carolina seller owes the state a Notice of Vehicle Sold (Form 416), and a branch counter takes it, as does the mail.

Plates and the title

Plates follow people, not cars, in South Carolina: one cannot change hands to someone new when the original holder is not on the title. So unbolt yours before the car leaves your North Augusta driveway. Fit it to another car of your own, or send it back with Form 452 alongside Form 416, then drop the liability coverage. On the title, write in who bought it and their address, the odometer figure, and what they paid on what day, then sign. The buyer must get the car registered within 45 days of buying it. If the title is lost, see junk car with no title; a duplicate is $15.

Towns around North Augusta

Aiken lies 13.3 straight-line miles away. Greenwood is 47.8 miles and Lexington 53.2. For the statewide picture, see South Carolina.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the form. We'll ask about the car, the miles on the odometer, if the engine will crank, and the current state of the title. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US. The truck meets the car on the lot, in the carport, or wherever the posted notice found it.