Buying A Used Car in South Carolina: What To Know
Photo by Yohan Marion on Unsplash
The Palmetto State is known for its beaches, golf courses, and natural beauty. Maybe because of its leisure life, South Carolina is unsurprisingly also a pretty painless place when it comes to buying a car. It has a few state specific regulations and paperwork, but overall, things are very consumer friendly when compared to some of their neighbors. If you’re looking into buying a car in South Carolina, you’re in luck! We’ve got you covered.
Like a majority of the states in the US, South Carolina has some specific laws when it comes to buying a car. There shouldn’t be a whole lot of surprises if you know whether you’re going to buy from a dealership or private buyer, and the state makes it fairly straightforward if you follow the guidelines here, and fill out the paperwork correctly.
Buying a Car in South Carolina From a Dealership
One of the benefits of buying your next car from a dealership is that it typically makes the paperwork a bit more manageable. In South Carolina the dealership will usually handle the title transfer and registration for you which can help speed up the actual process at the office.
When you’re ready to finalize your car purchase these are all typically gathered for you. While this alone may not be worth a higher purchase price, it is one of the many reasons dealerships are generally considered more convenient than going through a private seller.
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Paperwork
Vehicle title - Pretty straight forward, but you’ll definitely need this to receive ownership!
A signed Bill of Sale/Buyer’s Order - This must show the total cost of the purchase price and the buyer’s signature on the document is required. As far as the DMV in South Carolina is concerned, this is your actual reference and acting receipt for your new car.
$250 infrastructure maintenance fee - This is applied to leased vehicles that are registered and moved from another state, so may not be all that common for traditional car buyers. Even if it does apply, with certain requirements are met this can be waived.
The fees are pretty manageable compared to other states but it’s still good to know what to expect:
The state has a 5% sales tax and a flat $15 title transfer fee. The other fees associated from a dealer may be based on relocation, cleaning, or “promotional” fees, but won’t be something from the state directly.
Buying a used car in South Carolina from a private seller
Assuming you’re buying from a private seller who has the original title and is sole owner, the state requires quite a few different documents to transfer ownership over to you:
Title Application (Form 400)
Statement of Vehicle Operation (Form TI-006) this is only required if you don’t have a South Carolina Driver’s License of ID at the time of your purchase and transfer
Signed Title with owner’s name and your name - the odometer and purchase price must be included on the back
Signed Bill of Sale or Buyer’s Order - your signature as the buyer is required, and includes the vehicle’s sale price, minus any trade in value
The SCDMV requires a title to be presented in order to register it with the state, unless you buy it from a dealer or established business. You can start the process of transferring the title and registration, but it typically takes a bit longer to verify than it would if you were buying from a dealer.
The DMV itself doesn’t recommend buying a car in South Carolina from someone who doesn’t have the original titles (as do a number of other states) and is generally considered a red flag.
If you find the perfect car and the seller has a reasonable explanation why they don’t have the original, a duplicate can be requested by the original owner. Additional steps are recommended, like running a vehicle history check for damage, liens, and any questionable activity like being reported missing or stolen.
Since South Carolina is a state that also requires auto insurance before you’re able to officially register a new car in your name, the VIN will come in handy for this portion of the car buying process as well.
This can be accomplished once you start the buying process and have the year, make, model, and VIN that you can share with the insurance company. At a dealership, this can usually be added while you’re adding final signatures, and for a private seller can be added almost immediately.
THE BEST USED SUVS UNDER $10,000
We looked into price, reliability, features, and more to create this list of the best used SUVs under $10k on the market today. Take a look - some of the best used SUVs have gone mostly overlooked or forgotten.
Registering the New Vehicle with the DMV
As stated earlier in the article, the state doesn’t have many fees associated with buying new cars, but there are some for registering with the state and DMV. You have 45 days from the initial purchase to complete the registration and requires the following:
- Vehicle title
- Bill of Sale
- Completed From 400 - the Title Application Form
- $24 registration fee (and 5% sales tax and $15 transfer fee completed)
- Proof of tax receipt
- Proof of Insurance
- Proof of Identity
- Lemon Law
South Carolina is one of the states that provides Lemon Law protection, up to 12,000 miles or 12 months since delivery from the seller. If the vehicle is beyond manufacturer repair, you may be able to get a full or partial refund based on the Lemon Law.
This doesn’t mean you have an additional 12 month or 12,000 mile warranty, especially if it’s from a private seller, but is put in place to protect buyers that may have purchased a faulty car that is beyond reasonable repair.
THE BEST USED MINIVANS ON THE MARKET
When it comes to hauling a lot of people and cargo, the minivan is hard to beat. We’ve factored in reliability, affordability, and functionality to create this curated list of the 8 best used minivans on the market today.
All in all, South Carolina makes the car buying process pretty simple. Whether you’re going through a dealership or a private seller, a good majority of the paperwork will be the same, with a few varying documents and steps if you went with a private seller. The state fees and taxes are pretty simple, and most of the paperwork can be found on the DMV website.
Get a Curated List of the Best Used Cars in South Carolina
The CoPilot car shopping app is the easiest way to buy a car. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll search the inventories of every dealership in your area to make you a personalized list of the best car listings in your area.
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The best part? CoPilot is built using the same technology that dealerships use to buy and sell their inventories, so we have more info on each vehicle than competitors. CoPilot doesn’t work with dealerships, so there are no sponsored posts or other shady practices — just the most info on the best cars. Check out our About Us page to see how CoPilot works.
