Sell your car in Columbia: running or not, on PCS orders or not
To sell your car in Columbia, SC, start with the instant offer online. We come to you, and pickup is free across the Midlands. Stationed at Fort Jackson? Below is where to start on post if your orders may cover shipping or storing the car.
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South Carolina's one vehicle turn-in center is in North Charleston
- 1. Book the appointment. PCSmyPOV, the booking site for government-paid car shipping and storage, lists one South Carolina vehicle processing center: 2880A Ashley Phosphate Road in North Charleston. It sees people only by appointment, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and is closed on federal holidays.
- 2. Email the paperwork early. Unless you use Fast Pass, the center asks for scanned copies of all your paperwork at least four days before the turn-in.
- 3. Arrive with a light tank. The center's directions start with I-26 East to exit 215, Dorchester Road. Military OneSource says the car must have a quarter tank of fuel or less, and you must bring documented proof that it has no open electrical or fire-related recalls.
Where we pick up around Columbia
We pick up free of charge across the Midlands, from downtown and the Vista (29201) and Forest Acres (29206) out to Blythewood and Elgin, and across the river to West Columbia, Cayce and Lexington (29072), with Irmo and Chapin up by the lake. We come to you: a driveway, an apartment lot or the parking deck at work.
Meeting a private buyer instead? The Richland County Sheriff's Department marks Internet Exchange Safety Zones, most of them watched by cameras, in the parking lots of its headquarters at 5623 Two Notch Road and its substations, including 1019 Beatty Road, 118 McNulty Street in Blythewood and 1405 Screaming Eagle Road in Elgin. Look for the signs.
Your first stop on post: Room 102, Strom Thurmond Building
Room 102 of the Strom Thurmond Building, 5450 Strom Thurmond Boulevard, is the post's outbound transportation and household goods office (803-751-5137). Ask there whether your orders cover shipping or storing the car. Military OneSource says that when both posts are in the lower 48, the cost of moving the car falls mostly on you, with exceptions. If yours is covered, the turn-in steps are further down.
Selling to someone with base access? Fort Jackson MWR lists a sales lot in the corner of the same building's parking lot, but the shop that runs it is closing. See the box below first.
Or sell it here. The sale usually wraps up within the week, sometimes the same day if the title is in hand. A loan adds processing days while the lender handles the payoff, so call the lender first. The full order of steps is in the PCS car-sale guide.
Cash for your car in Columbia
Want cash for cars in Columbia, SC because one has died where it's parked? Inside the city, Section 8-36 of Columbia's code lets the police chief or the housing officer order a property owner, in writing, to clear "inoperative or unregistered motor vehicles" from a lot that poses a health hazard, within a set time.
Richland County's ordinance, enforced by the Sheriff's code enforcement deputies, counts a car that can't move under its own power, or one with no plate or an expired plate, as a violation unless it's kept in a garage or carport. The owner gets 30 calendar days from the notice to fix it, and a repeat within 12 months can mean a tow at the owner's expense.
A sale takes the car off the lot, and we collect it from wherever it's parked. A car with a flood brand on its title still gets an offer, though a lower one. Here is what to expect when you sell a junk car.
If it died from a blown head gasket or a seized engine, start with selling a car with engine problems. For wreck or flood damage, see selling a wrecked or flood-damaged car, and if the insurer called it a total loss, selling a totaled car explains the salvage title that comes next.
Fort Jackson's sales lot and the shop that runs it
- •The Pre-Owned Vehicle Sales Lot is the corner parking lot of the Strom Thurmond Building off Marion Avenue. MWR lists the fee as $25 per vehicle for 30 days, with your price and contact details posted on the car, usually near the windshield (source)
- •You need a government ID, or must be immediate family of an ID cardholder, plus proof of registration, insurance and ownership, so a friend's car can't go on the lot (source)
- •Cars are registered for the lot at the Auto Craft Shop, which runs it. The shop announced that September 27, 2026 would be its last day and did not say who takes over the lot, so check with Fort Jackson MWR before you count on it (source)
Asked by Columbia sellers
If I need the SCDMV in person after selling, which branch do I use?
SCDMV has two Columbia branches, 1630 Shop Road and 228-A O'Neil Court, plus nearby ones at 1016 Broad Stone Road in Irmo and 122 Park Road in Lexington. All four open weekdays at 8:30 a.m. (9:30 on Wednesday), close at 5 p.m. and are closed on weekends.
Can someone without base access come on Fort Jackson to look at my car?
Only with a visitor pass. Everyone 18 or older without a DoD card has to pass a background check first, and it can be done through the Army's pass site, pass.aie.army.mil. In person, the Gate 2 visitor center is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Gate 4 center 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., both closed Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays.
Will Richland County still send me a car tax bill after I sell?
It can. The Richland County Auditor says SCDMV may not have processed your sale yet, and if ownership isn't updated within 90 days you might still get a bill. The auditor has a form for reporting a sold vehicle. The office is at 2020 Hampton Street, Suite 2067 (803-576-2600), open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
I live in West Columbia, Cayce or Lexington. Can I get car tax back after I sell?
Those are Lexington County cities and towns, so the Lexington County Auditor handles it. Once you've surrendered the plate at an SCDMV office, you can ask the auditor for a refund of the unused months left on the registration.
What goes on the title and what to do with your plate are covered on our South Carolina page.