Junk car in North Myrtle Beach? What the city code says

If the car under the cover is never going to run again, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. Sell the whole car as it sits; pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Why the city calls junk cars a nuisance

Section 12-42 gives the city's reasons. According to the code, stored wrecks and half-dismantled cars "invite plundering," "create fire hazards" and form "an attractive nuisance," and they are "in the nature of rubbish, litter and unsightly debris." It calls them "a public nuisance which may be abated as such," a remedy that adds to any other the law provides.

Breaking Section 12-41 is a misdemeanor, punishable by fine, jail or both. A property owner is not criminally liable when someone else abandons a car on the lot, as long as the owner helps the city dispose of it. A licensed business that needs to park vehicles to operate is exempt.

The plate rule for residential lots

The zoning chapter adds a second test. Section 23-113 says "Automotive vehicles without current license plates shall not be parked or stored on any residentially zoned property other than in completely enclosed buildings." That sentence has no cover exception. A car whose plate has expired or been turned in may break it even under a tarp in the back yard. If yours is in that spot, ask the city how the two sections fit together before you count on the cover.

When the car died at a shop on the highway strip

Section 23-26 allows auto service and repair shops in the Highway Commercial district as long as "no junked or salvaged vehicles shall be kept on the premises." When a repair estimate tops the car's value, the shop has its own motive to get it hauled off. See stuck at a repair shop.

Towing and impound

Under Section 21-31, police may remove and impound an unattended car that breaks the traffic chapter. The owner gets it back "only upon payment of any outstanding bonds, fines, fees, and costs of towing and impounding." State law adds that the tow company and storage lot notify the registered owner and lienholders by certified mail, return receipt requested. South Carolina considers a car on a highway abandoned after it sits unattended for more than 48 hours.

Title and plates from the beach

The SCDMV branch we found sits inland in Conway, at 4103 Highway 701 North (843-365-4781), about 20 miles west of North Myrtle Beach measured straight. Several steps can go by mail instead.

• Sign the title over. The first assignment takes the buyer's name and address, lienholder, odometer reading, price, sale date and both signatures. No price line means adding a bill of sale.
• File the Notice of Vehicle Sold, Form 416.
• Hold on to the plate for a car of yours, or surrender it with Form 452; then cancel the insurance.

A missing title costs $15 to replace. In North Myrtle Beach, a wreck past twelve model years can go to a demolisher or metals recycler with no title. It needs no valid plate and must lack an engine or not run. You sign an affirming form. See junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

North Myrtle Beach sellers can call (877) 421-6008 or send the offer form. A car under a cover in a Cherry Grove back yard, on a condo lot, or down the road in Myrtle Beach or Conway is fine for pickup. For statewide rules, see South Carolina.