South Carolina DMV, Part 2. And Part 3.

Last Saturday saw my wife and I spending about an hour and a half just getting our shiny new SC driver's licenses, good for ten years, at a cost of $25 each. One afternoon this week, on an extended lunch break, we headed back to Greenville to get our license plates.

The trek did not start with the DMV. No, our first destination was the county building, where we had to pay our taxes on our cars. In SC, taxes are assessed based on the value of the car—which, thankfully, meant we didn't have to pay too much. [Comparison note: What we ended up paying by the end of the day was comparable to what we paid for the same cars in Michigan each year. However, it appears new/newer cars are taxed more severely in South Carolina.] But even this stop was not singular: We first had to have a tax bill for each car generated by one clerk, who then sent us to another room where we paid the bills.

The DMV is across the street from the county building, so we headed over there and took a number...and waited...and after sitting for about a half hour finally got to the counter. We chose the "In God We Trust" license plates [Note to other states: No additional charge] because the Bob Jones University license plates cost an extra $70—each. This choice meant waiting for another clerk. After being separated from more of our money, we left with license plates in hand. The total time spent: About another hour and a half.

Some final comparisons:

1. When it comes to one-stop shopping, Michigan has South Carolina beat easily.
2. Our costs were comparable to what we paid before in Michigan, but the time factor is won by Michigan.
3. Michigan probably would win the cost comparison if we had a newer car(s).

Maybe next year I can re-register my cars by mail. I sure hope so.

MI Secretary of State Office: Something I Never Thought I Would Miss

This morning, a Saturday, I and my lovely wife went to the only South Carolina DMV office in the region that is open on Saturdays in order to get new driver's licenses. Once again we arrive from out of state, so a comparison is in order:

Michigan: Go to Secretary of State Office, with all appropriate documents in hand. When it's your turn, go to the counter and transact business to get MI driver's license, title, and car tags. Leave; put tags on car; wait for license to arrive in mail soon thereafter. Tags are renewed annually; driver's license is good for four years.

South Carolina: [Step 1] Go to SC DMV office with all appropriate documents in hand. Get in line in order to identify the type of business you have and get a number. Sit and wait (in our case, nearly an hour) while reading whatever literature you brought with you. When it's your turn, go to the counter and transact business to get your driver's license. Wait a few moments, claim your license, put it in your wallet, and depart. The driver's license is good for ten years.

[Step 2] Go to county office and pay taxes on your car (a task for next week).

[Step 3] Return to DMV with all appropriate documents in hand. Transact business to get SC titles and car tags (also a task for next week).

Now aside from the fact that my driver's license is good until 2020, I think I like the Michigan way better. Of course, I haven't learned how much $$ I will part with in Step 2 yet....