Sell your car in Columbus: running, damaged or dead, PCS orders or not
Selling a car in Columbus can touch Fort Benning's rules for its resale lot and its gates, the city's code on junk cars, and tag offices on both sides of the Chattahoochee. Get your offer, tell us your timeline, and we come to you on either side of the river.
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From orders to a decision
- Start at the Personal Property Shipment Office. It is at 6650 Meloy Drive, Building 6, Room 105, open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. It is the transportation office to ask if you are unsure whether your orders cover shipping the car.
- Shipping? Contact the processing center. Military OneSource says to contact the vehicle processing center nearest your duty station. On the PCSmyPOV list, the nearest to Columbus is the Atlanta VPC at 2579 Campbell Boulevard in Ellenwood, about 15 miles from the Atlanta airport, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
- Selling? Get the offer. Once you accept, pickup is set within days, on either side of the river, with the aim of having the car gone and paid for before your report date.
Where we pick up around Columbus
We pick up anywhere in Columbus, from downtown (31901) out to Midland (31820). Across the river, Phenix City (36867) gets the same truck, the same terms and the same offers as a Columbus address, and the route goes on to Smiths Station. North of town it runs as far as Hamilton, and to the south it reaches Cusseta.
On the Alabama side? Russell County's tag office is the Tag Commissioner at 1000 Broad Street in Phenix City, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. If your car is titled in Alabama or any state other than Georgia, read our guide to selling a car with an out-of-state title.
Ship it, store it or sell it
The post is Fort Benning again. The Army named it Fort Moore in May 2023, and in March 2025 the Defense Secretary ordered it renamed Fort Benning, so older orders and papers may say either. Fort Benning no longer registers vehicles or issues DoD decals, so there is no post registration to cancel when the car goes.
With PCS orders you may be entitled to ship or store one car at government expense. For a move within the continental U.S., Military OneSource says the cost of getting the car to your new duty station is largely yours. Selling is the third choice: on the post's own resale lot (its rules are in the questions below), or through an offer here. If you're still deciding, our guide to selling your car before a PCS move can help.
Cash for your car in Columbus
Columbus code calls a car a "junked motorized vehicle" if it no longer runs, has flat tires, has no current tag or registration, is missing a major part like the engine, wheels or transmission, or is overgrown with plants. Keeping one on a lot in the city is against the code. At a home, the exceptions are a car kept inside an enclosed building and one car under restoration with a Georgia antique tag. The rule is Section 13-167.7 of the Columbus Code.
If that describes the car in your driveway, see how to sell a junk car before a notice goes up.
If a blown engine or a transmission that slips or won't reverse is why it stopped running, selling a car with a blown engine or head gasket and selling a car with a bad transmission show how to tell what failed and what a buyer has to know. Wreck damage has its own guide: selling an accident-damaged car.
Where the Georgia paperwork happens
- •Muscogee County: the Tax Commissioner's Motor Vehicle Division, the county's tag agent for the Georgia Department of Revenue, at 3111 Citizens Way. Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (Muscogee County Tax Commissioner; About the office)
- •Chattahoochee County: the Tag, Title and Property Tax Office at 211 McNaughton Street in Cusseta, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays (Cusseta-Chattahoochee County; Military OneSource)
Asked by Columbus sellers
I want to sell my car in Columbus, GA, but I live on post. Which tag office is mine?
If your car has Georgia tags, it depends on your housing area. Military OneSource says families in McGraw Manor and Custer Terrace can register in Muscogee County, at the Columbus tag office. Every other housing area, Kelly Hill included, registers in Chattahoochee County, at the tag office in Cusseta. Both offices are in the list above.
How does the lemon lot on Fort Benning work?
The post calls it the POV Resale Lot. Outdoor Recreation runs it, behind the Auto Skills Center. You register the car at Outdoor Rec, Building 1707 on Gillespie Street, and it costs $11 per vehicle for 30 days. You need a government ID and proof of registration and insurance to park there. Shoppers find your price and contact details on the car, usually near the windshield.
Can a buyer without a military ID come on post to see my car?
They need a visitor pass to come on post unescorted. Anyone without a DoD ID card or installation pass gets a background check first, and so does every adult in their vehicle. The Lindsey Creek Visitor Control Center at the I-185 gate is open 24 hours, and the check takes about 5 to 8 minutes per person. Buyers can also pre-register online and pick the pass up at the kiosk there.
What happens if the city flags a junk car at my house?
The city serves a notice and posts one on the car. On private property you then have 30 calendar days to remove, store or dispose of it; on public property it is 7 days. A first offense carries a $500 fine, rising to $750 and then $1,000 for repeat offenses within 30 days. A car on your own property can only be removed by the city with an abatement order from Recorder's Court.
For the Georgia DMV steps every seller follows, see our Georgia selling guide.