Sell your car in Greenville: running, high-mileage or not running
Selling a car in Greenville, SC starts with a fair, instant offer online. After the sale, two local offices can still matter: an SCDMV branch, if you're turning in the plate, and the Greenville County Auditor, which handles refunds of the car tax you paid a year ahead.
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Getting back car tax you prepaid
- 1. Know what comes back. Greenville County collects vehicle tax 12 months in advance. Sell before the tag decal expires and a partial refund for the months left may be due. Moving the plate to your next car doesn't qualify, because the time left goes with the plate.
- 2. Cancel the tag. The Auditor needs proof the tag was cancelled before it refunds anything. Turn the plate in at an SCDMV branch (listed above) and ask for a tag return receipt.
- 3. Send it with proof of the sale. A bill of sale works, or the Auditor's own Vehicle Disposal Form. Take or mail both to 301 University Ridge, Suite S-2000, Greenville 29601, fax them to 864-467-5960 or email GCAuditor@greenvillecounty.org. The county Tax Collector mails the check.
Where we pick up around Greenville
Half-ton pickups, cargo vans and crew trucks are as welcome as high-mileage commuter cars, and work wear on a truck is priced as just that. Pickup reaches across the city, 29601 downtown included, and out along I-85 and I-385 to Greer (29651), Taylors, Mauldin, Simpsonville (29681), Fountain Inn, Easley and Travelers Rest. The car can wait in a driveway, the lot at work or a repair shop; we come to it.
Greer sits in two counties. Car tax follows the tax district you live in, so on the Spartanburg County side of Greer the bill comes from Spartanburg County, and the Greenville County refund steps below don't apply to you. Ask the Spartanburg County Auditor instead: 366 N. Church St., Spartanburg, 864-596-2600.
Cash for your car in Greenville
Under Greenville's city code, a junk car in the yard is a nuisance the owner has to deal with. Once the city sends notice, the owner must remove and dispose of it at their own expense or be in violation. If it comes to a city order after a hearing, the removal and disposal costs can be assessed against the person responsible and placed as a lien on their property.
Want cash for junk cars in Greenville before a notice lands on the door? A car that’s old, damaged or dead is still worth asking about, and the truck comes to it, running or not. Read how selling a junk car works before you start.
For a work truck or commuter car that quit with a slipping transmission, a knocking engine or a blown head gasket, see selling a car with a slipping transmission and selling a car with a knocking or blown engine. One that's damaged rather than worn out is covered in selling an accident-damaged car.
SCDMV branches in and around Greenville
- •Greenville-Edgeworth, downtown at 122 Edgeworth St. (864-232-6123) (source)
- •Greenville-Saluda Dam, 15 Saluda Dam Road (864-241-1147) (source)
- •Greer, 610 Arlington Road (864-801-9375) (source)
- •Fountain Inn, 1310 North Main Street (864-967-4013). Plan a weekday trip: all four close on weekends, and on Wednesdays they open an hour later, at 9:30 a.m. (source)
Asked by Greenville sellers
After I sell my car in Greenville, SC, what happens to the county tax bill?
It depends on the bill. A renewal bill for a car that's no longer yours can be disregarded, the Auditor says, if you didn't move the plate to another car. A first-time bill, the kind due 120 days after a dealer handles the registration, needs a call so the office can adjust it. If you did move the plate, call right away: tax on the new car is due by the plate's expiration date. You can reach the Auditor's Office at 864-467-7040.
I have a Palmetto Pass for the Southern Connector. What should I do with it after the sale?
Update the account with the vehicle and plate you use now. The toll scanners on the Southern Connector (I-185) record both the Palmetto Pass and the license plate, and an unpaid toll becomes a violation notice mailed to the vehicle's registered owner, with added fees and, if it's ignored, a suspended registration. You can update the account online or call customer service at 864-527-2143.
My car is dead in the yard in Taylors. Who enforces the rules out there?
Taylors and Five Forks aren't inside any city, so Greenville County does. Its Code Enforcement Division (864-467-7090) covers abandoned or dismantled vehicles on private property, and the Sheriff's Office covers them on public property. The county's list for an abandoned vehicle: not in working order, no current legal registration, missing equipment it needs to run. The division doesn't take anonymous complaints, and under its Neighborhood Awareness Program officers point out the rules to residents before writing citations.
Is there a time limit for a dead car parked on a Greenville street?
Inside city limits, 48 hours. City code treats a vehicle left unattended on a public road longer than that as abandoned, so keep it off the street until pickup.
Our South Carolina hub covers the title signature, the bill of sale and the SCDMV’s sold-vehicle notice.