Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

This location of American Car Center has a much less distinctive building than the one on Two Notch, but like that one was caught in the bankruptcy of the whole chain in February of 2023.

As Fortune put it:

American Car Center told employees the business was closing its doors, a day after it pulled a $222 million bond sale from the market, according to people familiar with the matter.

The used car retailer, which tends to target consumers regardless of their credit history, said in an email to employees on Friday the firm was ceasing all operations, closing its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, and that all employees would be terminated by the end of the business day, the people said. The headquarters has about 288 people.

The closure email came a day after the company sent another message to staff saying management and advisors had been working with lenders to improve liquidity and continue operations, the people said. American Car Center, which has more than 40 dealerships across 10 states, is owned by York Capital Management LLC.

Interestingly, both Columbia locations have electronic signs that are still active. However, I can tell you that as I took these pictures, it was neither 6:52pm nor 38 degrees...

This tire outfitter in Irmo near Friarsgate Plaza closed down at the end of March. I went by one time and saw they were storing a lot of vehicles there and wasn't sure they were closed, but the second time I actually read the note on the door, which announced the closure.

It's not the easiest lot to get in and out of, but I expect someone will take it up before too long.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

United Auto Sales moved to this location in 2012 after their old location on Forest Drive was torn down to build Cook Out. Although Google is labeling this location as Temporarily Closed, I think it is more likely that United has shut down for good after a 12 year run here.

(Hat tip to commenter Payne)

I have always had good experiences with Goodyear service centers, though I never went to this one, on Saint Andrews Road between Piney Grove Road and the industrial plant. Their sign says they are moving to 141 Harbison, but as commenter Andrew points out, that is an existing location, so it is more like a consolidation. Given the ongoing shortage of service technicians, hopefully everybody was able to stay on. There are a number of other garages in the area, so it remains to be seen what will happen at this building in the future.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

I don't believe I've ever been to a National Tire & Battery, though I see they spun off from Sears in 2003, so I guess you could say I did business with them in a roundabout way through that Diehard connection.

As far as I can tell from the Google reviews, this location closed around three months ago, so I'm calling it late 2003. It seems like a pretty decent location, so I would not be surprised to see another repair operation set up shop here.

(Hat tip to commenter badger)

I noticed while I was driving Clemson Road to I-20 recently that the front building on this long-time auto lot appeared to be vacant. The back building, with the huge flag which has flown for many years is still there, and appears to be Jim Hudson Chevrolet.

As nearly as I can determine the vacant building was first Capitol Hyundai and then Stivers Hyundai. It appears that Capitol closed sometime before 2020 (though their Facebook is still up) and Stivers took over the franchaise after that. Apparently they recently built a site on Farrow Road and have moved out there.

I saw a real-estate sign driving by here in mid-2021, but as there were cars down there, I wasn't sure the place was actually closed. When I ran across the pictures again today, a google search confirmed that Hill's is gone, probably sometime in 2021.

The LoopNet page has a better picture than these.

I'm not sure why the sign says "Transmission" when all the online sources say "Transmissions", but I went with the plural.

I don't know much about Ricky's Tire & Auto, but they seem to been a well regarded shop and closed last month after struggling with first COVID and then the economy for a while.

Commenter Andrew sends this ColaDaily link which has much more information, including a video report.

(Hat tip to commenter Brandon Brown)

This was the follow-on operation in this building to SCU State Credit Union, and was here about two years, I think.

I believe their door sign says they have moved, but I was not able to get out to take a look at it as another car unexpectedly came around the building going the wrong direction, and I had to move out of the way.

I've wondered about this place over they years, and a couple of times actually had the impression that it was closed, and stopped to get some pictures. That appears not to have been the case until recently. It's an odd, boxy building with opaque glass windows,and I don't think I would have cared to work there, unless you can see out better than you can see in. The place is now being demolished, and commenter Larry says a 7 Brew Coffee is to be built there.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

As far as I can tell, A1A has rebranded, or was bought-by/merged-with Covenant Insurance Group, and is now at 7356 Garners Ferry.