Sell your car in Myrtle Beach: running, storm-damaged or won't start
Myrtle Beach's hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. If you'd rather sell a car than move it out of a storm's way, get the cash offer online. We come to the car, wherever you keep it.
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If a storm is headed for your parked car
- 1. Find out whether the spot floods. The city puts most land east of Ocean Boulevard and Beach Drive in the floodplain. Low land near the Midway, Withers, Deephead, Cane Patch and Bear Branch swashes floods too. Lot-by-lot flood maps are at the City Services Building, 921 North Oak Street (city flood page, checked September 2026).
- 2. Move it before the storm. The city's advice is to move cars to higher ground if you are in a flood zone. Horry County's Know Your Zone map shows your evacuation zone (city hurricane page, checked September 2026).
- 3. Keep watching after the sky clears. After Hurricane Florence in 2018, Horry County's flooding came weeks after landfall, under sunny skies, the city notes. The Waccamaw River's flood wave then moved downstream through Bucksport and Socastee (National Weather Service). If water did get into the car, see selling a flood-damaged car.
Where we pick up around Myrtle Beach
Pickup is free along the Strand, from Little River and North Myrtle Beach south through Surfside Beach and Garden City to Murrells Inlet, and inland to Carolina Forest and Conway. A driveway in 29577, a carport in Socastee (29588) or a lot in Carolina Forest (29579) all work. In The Avenues, east of Kings Highway from 31st to 82nd Avenue North, street parking is generally limited to cars with a resident decal or guest placard (Sec. 12-150.10). A driveway is the easier pickup spot there.
Peel off the city parking decal. A Myrtle Beach resident decal belongs to one car, and city code says it comes off when that car is sold (Sec. 12-141). Bring it to the Reimagined Parking Office, 914 North Kings Highway (weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), and your next car's decal skips the $20 replacement charge. Go in person: the online form won't work once the car on your county tax receipt is gone (City of Myrtle Beach).
Cash for your car in Myrtle Beach
Inside city limits, a car that is unregistered, won't run, or has been left derelict is a public nuisance, even on your own lot. The city code makes two exceptions: a car kept inside a building, or one under a complete cover (Sec. 10-22).
In Socastee, Little River and the rest of unincorporated Horry County, the county's code applies (Sec. 10-13), and it is about what the neighbors can see. A junked, wrecked or abandoned car may not be kept where it can be seen from the street or from next door. One junked car may stay in the back yard if a canvas cover hides all of it (Sec. 10-28). A car left more than seven days on someone else's land without permission counts as abandoned, and one the county removes can be auctioned if no one claims it within 30 days (Sec. 10-29).
For cash for junk cars in Myrtle Beach, ask for the offer online and the truck collects the car where it sits, wrecked or not running. Our sell my junk car page explains the steps.
If storm water got into the car, see selling a car with storm or flood damage, and if the insurer then declared it a total loss, selling a totaled car covers the salvage title that comes next. For one that won't run because the engine seized or overheated, read selling a car with engine problems.
Parking, tickets and tow limits
- •City meters charge from 9 a.m. to midnight, March 1 through September 30. An unpaid ticket is $30, rising to $60 after 30 days (source)
- •A car with more than $100 in past-due parking penalties can be impounded (Sec. 12-146)
- •A tow from a private or pay-to-park lot without your consent is capped at a flat $160 for a car, with no extra charge for dollies or lifts, and storage at $25 a day (Sec. 23-142). Releasing a boot on a commercial paid lot costs at most $125 a day and $400 in all (Sec. 23-165)
Asked by Myrtle Beach sellers
How do I sell my junk car in Myrtle Beach after the city has tagged it?
A city notice to abate sets a deadline. To contest it, a written hearing request must reach the city manager before then, and the hearing follows within five business days (Sec. 10-28). A car tagged for towing on private property goes on a list to City Council. The owner gets a chance to speak at a regular meeting before police may tow it (Sec. 12-148). A summons goes to the city's Quality of Life Court, which meets once a month. The zoning compliance officer for abandoned cars on private property is at 843-918-1198. If you'd rather sell than contest it, set pickup before the deadline on the notice.
My car was totaled. Can I still get Horry County car tax back?
You can ask for it. For a wrecked car the insurer bought, the county Auditor asks for the insurer's letter giving the accident date, VIN and purchase date, plus your paid tax receipt and SC DMV Form 5051. If you sold the car yourself, a bill of sale (or trade-in agreement) and a copy of the signed-over title take the place of that letter. The Auditor's Vehicle Division is at 1201 21st Avenue North, and its South Strand office is at 9630 Scipio Lane, Suite K. Both answer at 843-915-5050.
We live here only part of the year. Can pickup fit around our travel dates?
We schedule pickup around your travel dates. Just don't leave the car on a city street to be collected later. City code bars leaving a car on the street as dead storage for more than 24 hours. One left 48 hours in a metered space with two or more tickets can be impounded (Sec. 12-90, Sec. 12-146). A title from your home state works too; our guide to selling with an out-of-state title covers the signing.
If I need an SCDMV branch after the sale, which one is closest?
The Myrtle Beach SCDMV branch is at 1200 21st Avenue North. It opens at 8:30 a.m. on weekdays (9:30 on Wednesdays), closes at 5 p.m. and is closed on weekends. Another branch, at 4103 Highway 701 North in Conway, keeps the same hours.
Our South Carolina guide has the title, plate and notice-of-sale steps.