Jackson County Motor Vehicle

Five stars for honesty, integrity and a willingness to help.
After waiting for the State of South Carolina to process a vehicle title, I finally received it and went to the DMV office in Jefferson, Georgia to transfer title and purchase a vehicle tag. They based their ad valorem tax on an excessively-high fair market value of $7375 for a 2006 vehicle. They also charged me a penalty for late filing, even though I didn't have the title from South Carolina yet. I requested an appeal form, and did a little research on the real-world fair market value. I calculated a FMV of $4654 based on an average of prices obtained from NADA, Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds.
I submitted my research and the completed appeal form to the Jackson County Tax Assessor's office across the hall from the DMV. They ultimately calculated the FMV at $4927 using their Black Book software, some $2448 less than the DMV. The Black Book value came out higher than my FMV, but the Assessor was willing to meet me halfway and we agreed on the $4927. I await my refund of about $286.00 in a few weeks, after the appeal works its way through the Boards process.
Do not assume that the Georgia Dept. of Drivers Services knows what they're doing, or that they're treating you fairly. Government works best when one agency checks-and-balances another, and this is definitely worth your time pursuing. I've never had a better, friendlier response from any County government office than the appraiser with the Jackson County Tax Assessor's Office provided.