Summerville's 45-day permit and selling a dead car

When Summerville calls a car abandoned

Section 12-63 uses three clocks. A vehicle is abandoned if it is:

• "left on private property without the consent of the owner, occupant or lessee thereof for a period of not less than 24 hours"
• left on a public street or highway of the town "for a period of not less than seven days"
• left on other town property "for a period of not less than 24 hours"

There is a way out. A vehicle "shall not be declared abandoned" if it is in a closed garage, in the rear yard behind a privacy fence, or in the rear yard under "some other appropriate (manufactured) cover" that hides it and makes it safe for children. A front-yard car under a loose tarp does not fit that wording.

Notice, permit, removal

Before a car can be removed from private land without consent, the police department or the code enforcement and license inspector must tell the owner, lessee or occupant that the car counts as abandoned. From there you have 30 days, or you can ask the town administrator for the 45-day permit. "Upon the expiration of the 30 days' notice or the permit," the police may remove the car. To get it back, you pay "all reasonable costs incidental to the removal, storage and locating" of the owner. Notice to remove a car has more on answering one.

Street parking: 24 hours

Under Section 28-83, it is "unlawful for any person to park any motor vehicle for a period of more than 24 consecutive hours on any street, right-of-way, or public place within the corporate limits." Town council can set tighter limits in business districts.

Title office and paperwork

From central Summerville, the Ladson branch (135 Wimberly Drive, 843-572-7854) is roughly 5 miles east as the crow flies. That is the SCDMV office we checked; with Summerville reaching into three counties, another may be handier.

Complete the assignment: purchaser, purchaser's address, any lien, odometer miles, price, date, and a signature from each of you. A title lacking a price line travels with a bill of sale. Form 416, titled Notice of Vehicle Sold, goes to the SCDMV afterward, posted or dropped at a branch like Ladson.

Lost the title while the car sat behind the fence? A replacement is $15 whether you mail the request or go in, and an optional $20 expedite fee gets it the same day in person. With a lien still recorded, the duplicate is sent to the lienholder instead. See lien still on the title or junk car with no title.

You keep the plate. Return it with Forms 452 and 416 if it is not going on another car, and stop the liability policy.

Towns near Summerville

North Charleston is 9.0 straight-line miles from Summerville, Goose Creek 9.9 and Hanahan 11.5. Charleston is 17.2. Statewide rules are on the South Carolina page.

Getting an offer

Ring (877) 421-6008 or send details online. Summerville sellers can get going with a few lines on the offer form. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US. The truck can meet it behind the privacy fence, in the garage, or at the curb.