SC Vehicle Title and Registration (Conway, Murrells Inlet: car insurance, public school, DMV)
Myrtle Beach - Conway areaHorry County
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Location: Lakewood NJ/Murrells Inlet SC/ N. Naples FL/Swainton NJ
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I have a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix that has a "Check Engine" light problem. I have had the problem "fixed" twice so that the car passes NJ's bi-annual inspection process, but the problem returns. The problem (an air intake pump system failure) seems to have no effect (affect?) on performance or gas mileage. But it causes the vehicle to flunk inspection.
Anyway, since I refuse to spend any more money on this problem I plan to just get SC plates and kiss MV inspections goodby.
My plan is to leave the car here in NJ, but bring the registration, insurance card and title with me to Murrells Inlet. Then I will do the tax thing (at the Horry County tax office) and then get an SC title and plate at the MV office in Conway. Then when I return to NJ I would mount the SC plate and remove the expired NJ inspection sticker.
Does anyone see a problem with my plan?? I might switch to a SC drivers license at the same time or not......
Tmozer,
I would definitely say you should get your license switched as well because they will know if you don't and that would be a problem. The only other problem I see is that if you try to register a vehicle later in SC, that you currently own now, they may see you have a previously registered vehicle and failed to register your other/others.
I don't blame you for wanting to avoid the ridiculous NJ inspection process. However, I think you need to pick one state for all of your cars, driving license, car insurance, etc.
Note that your insurance company and not just the states of SC and NJ are going to want your current legal (main) address and address of record for your drivers license. You can't have a license to drive in more than one state at a time.
The hassle of dealing with the NJ inspection will likely seem minimal when compared to the hassle of breaking the law to avoid it!
On the other hand, you might try removing the fuse that connects to the unwanted warning light, or a strategically placed piece of black electrical tape!
Note that your insurance company and not just the states of SC and NJ are going to want your current legal (main) address and address of record for your drivers license. You can't have a license to drive in more than one state at a time.
The hassle of dealing with the NJ inspection will likely seem minimal when compared to the hassle of breaking the law to avoid it!
Very true Vrexy, I hadn't even thought of that. We actually had to change our insurance agent to a SC agent (even though it was a nationwide company). I want to change my answer to what Vrexy said.
Location: Lakewood NJ/Murrells Inlet SC/ N. Naples FL/Swainton NJ
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It is the computer that turns on the check engine light. And it is the computer that inspection facility goes by.
I have addresses in NJ, SC and FL. I believe SC will end up being our "home" address while the other two will be secondary.
Since the vehicle is illegal as of tomorrow, it will sit until I decide what to do.
If getting SC plates goes smoothly, I will do so. I see my NJ neighbors having vehicles with FL, NC, Vermont, etc. plates on the cars sitting in their driveway and I would guess they have not run into problems.
However I may just trade the damn thing in (by pulling the battery, the check engine light goes off for about 50 miles. However, the computer is brain dead during that time, so it does not work as far as inspection goes. However the car dealers don't check the computer - at least not until after the deal is made).
You could probably Google "SES light reset" for your car and get a tip to set it yourself. I had a 2000 Pontiac Trans-Am with the same issue - I think I had to pull two of the fuses in the engine bay fuse block, wait 10 minutes, and then start the car a couple times. The car kinda runs a little wonky at first but soon the computer figures out the fuel mix again and everything is fine.
The local emission station wouldn't check it the first time I went right away afterward because the on-board computer memory was purged, but after driving it a few miles I was able to go back in and it passed. I guess to pass it needs to have a certain amount of 'clear' history in the exhaust readings from the car's brain. Whatever - the light came on again a day or two later and the car was good for another two years (we have emission checks every other year in Wisconsin, based on odd/even year). What a stupid PITA sometimes.
Location: Lakewood NJ/Murrells Inlet SC/ N. Naples FL/Swainton NJ
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I spent yesterday morning in Conway. Thank goodness I was able to punch in Horry County Office complex and the Conway DMV office in my GPS or I would still be driving around looking for same.
Got my plate for my NJ illegal Grand Prix. It will soon be a legal SC vehicle.
I saw this on WMBF this morning. It seems that Horry County is cracking down on out of state tags. At the time they are focusing on people with out of state tags that have children registered in the school system, but it makes me wonder if they have plans to expand their investigations. If they do, I would think that a person having more than one vehicle registered in different states may come into question. Just food for thought.
Neeche-
The last time this crackdown took place, they focused on those who had kids in school. I'm curious as to how they plan to actually enforce this, given the fact that they are already understaffed as it is.
Odd that this thread pops back to life... at work last night, a friend mentioned that her husband was just notified via mail about his out of state tags...
Neeche-
The last time this crackdown took place, they focused on those who had kids in school. I'm curious as to how they plan to actually enforce this, given the fact that they are already understaffed as it is.
Odd that this thread pops back to life... at work last night, a friend mentioned that her husband was just notified via mail about his out of state tags...
Yes, it seems like identifying the offenders is the easy part, since you need to present proof of residency to enroll your child in the school system (and you can't get your SC drivers license without first registering your vehicle). But then, like you said, they need to enforce it. So far only 25 percent have come forward. I would hate to see the children put in the middle of it all but I would think they would be able to say "pay up or don't try to use our public school system".
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We actually had to change our insurance agent to a SC agent (even though it was a nationwide company). I want to change my answer to what Vrexy said. 
