Sold a lady a car, now husband is trying to get money back. Suggestions?

[browntown]

bang his wife

+1

Really though, who are these people that buy things with a title in limbo. I personally would have waited till you had the title before selling it.

I've been about to buy a couple cars when the seller gives me some story about why he doesn't have the title. Thats the reason I do not drive an alpenweiss 4-door or a graphite 318is. No way I'd fork over cash for no title. Conversly, you shouldn't be accepting it till you can hand over title.

[aaronmjr]

In every negociation, each party wins a bit and looses a bit. Both end up on top. My view on the situation is to let the guy know that he has no chance at all if he goes to court. Explain clearly why. Then offer $500 to settle it and buy peace, under the condition he doesn't go to court and have him sign a "contract". He will probably refuse, go to court and loose. At least Aaron will have shown good will. Always have a witness to every contact and have the other guy sign the title when cashing the $500. That money is basically the bait to protect Aaron.

Yeah I dunno. I think that if I offer anything back I will be admitting that I was somehow in the wrong, which I don't believe I am. I think that would only egg on the situation further, and piss him off. He's quoting the car needs $8000 in work, even if I thought giving $500 was a good idea I'd feel like I was being an asshole by bringing up such a menial amount compared to what he's dealing with. I'm going to stick to my guns and assume no liability for anything that has happened after they drove away. I do appreciate the input though Mr. V.

You can look at my original for sale ad on here, s14.net and bimmerforums. I offered the car for $7500 obo with 117k. At the time there were no C43's for sale less than $10k, and even that one had 174k on it so It was well below what I considered to be market value.

[browntown]

Yeah I dunno. I think that if I offer anything back I will be admitting that I was somehow in the wrong.

This is true

[LEANE30]

Yeah I dunno. I think that if I offer anything back I will be admitting that I was somehow in the wrong, which I don't believe I am. I think that would only egg on the situation further, and piss him off. He's quoting the car needs $8000 in work, even if I thought giving $500 was a good idea I'd feel like I was being an asshole by bringing up such a menial amount compared to what he's dealing with. I'm going to stick to my guns and assume no liability for anything that has happened after they drove away. I do appreciate the input though Mr. V.

You can look at my original for sale ad on here, s14.net and bimmerforums. I offered the car for $7500 obo with 117k. At the time there were no C43's for sale less than $10k, and even that one had 174k on it so It was well below what I considered to be market value.

right off the bat tell him you are going to call the cops if he directly or even indirectly threatens you in any way again. don't pay him or offer him anything, and tell him that you are not going to pay him because they broke your old car right after they bought it. they drove it away, AS IS, it drove away, it was not broken. they failed to get it inspected, it's on their head. it is a rare car with quite a few miles on it and a few years, you are not liable for their lack of reasonable care while operating their new car, it's unfortunate, you loved the car very much. they should be grateful that they didn't break it with their carelessness while test-driving it, cars like that should be respected and not abused.

[1991 318is]

I don't know about your state but in Texas after you sell a car and give the title to the buyer, they are required to transfer it. A lot of people don't do it to avoid sales tax or whatever. You usually find out when you get a warrant issued for unpaid parking tickets. there is a form you can file as a legal response to the warrant. This from TX DOT website:
"Protecting Yourself After a Sale

If you have sold a vehicle, one of the most important things you can do is pay $5 to submit the Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification (Form VTR-346). While it is the responsibility of the buyer to apply for a title after purchasing your vehicle, they may not do this. You may end up receiving registration renewal notices, parking tickets, and other correspondence that no longer applies to you.

While the buyer has up to 30 days to file for a title, you can immediately file the Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification, giving you a little more peace of mind in the event that the buyer fails to title the vehicle before racking up tickets."

[Ryan Stewart]

In every negociation, each party wins a bit and looses a bit. Both end up on top. My view on the situation is to let the guy know that he has no chance at all if he goes to court. Explain clearly why. Then offer $500 to settle it and buy peace, under the condition he doesn't go to court and have him sign a "contract". He will probably refuse, go to court and loose. At least Aaron will have shown good will. Always have a witness to every contact and have the other guy sign the title when cashing the $500. That money is basically the bait to protect Aaron.

That implies that there is a negotiation. Deal is done, he didnt like his end of the deal. The only reason to reneg is for the purpose of preserving a relationship for future dealings. If the guy wasnt in the wrong there is no reason for him to offer anything.

Used cars break. My halfshaft broke after the swap. Should I go find the guy I bought my car from back in 2000 and demand he pay me money back to cover the repair? Shit, the halfshaft broke while halfway through a 1/4 mile. Maybe the guy who bought the (hipo) car was flogging it.

[BigD]

Late reply here but I'm with everyone who says to report it to the cops. I'd go now, before talking to him. Get a recorder going (more on legality later), when he picks up the phone, say your name, and immediately say that you have reported his threats to the police. Then say that you have a contract in which the buyer (which he is NOT) understands that the car is sold as-is. If he threatens you again, inform him that this will be reported to the police, along with a recording of this conversation, then hang up, and go to the cops.

With regards to legality, instead of going by Law and Order, here's the real deal. In your state, recording this conversation without telling him will be perfectly legal and admissible:

http://www.rcfp.org/taping/states/minnesota.html

Lee, that could have been an appropriate thing to do if the lady called him crying that she can't afford the repair but the way he acted, I wouldn't even speak with him again except to inform him of the above.

Buying used is buying used, no matter if it's a pencil or an airplane. If you did not agree to a warranty, then it's on you to have done due diligence. When I bought an E34 M5, the oil pump failed and caused a full engine rebuild with all new pistons and valves, costing many thousands. Too bad for me, I'm not going to blame the seller for it. Everything doesn't have to be someone else's fault, most things are our own fault or just bad luck.

[Jean]

I agree with above. The way they/he approached you is out of line on a car sold AS IS.

1. contact the cops
2. call DMV and ask if there is a ""Protecting Yourself After a Sale" form of some kind you can fill out

[aaronmjr]

Thank you all for the replies. I will be visiting the dmv to ask about everything we have spoke about.

I spoke to the wife today (after calling her husband's cell), and calmly explained that I had consulted with some people and that I'm sorry but I can assume no liability for anything that happened after the sale. We had a binding contract and it's out of my hands. I also stated that I wanted to mail them their $100 and asked for their home address. She said she was in the middle of something and would have to call me back. What she really did was call her husband who promptly called me back. He called me a "backstabber" and said that "karma would come back to haunt me". He also would not give me their address to send the $100. So it looks like I'm sending the title and their $100 in the form of a money order to the wife's work. We'll I'm glad that part is over. At the suggestion of my parents I'm not answering another phone call from them.


Thanks again to everyone for their advice!

[BigD]

Don't be stupid, report it to the police! It takes like 15 mins to fill out the stupid report, and it will make all the difference in the world if he tries to fuck with you (and he sounds unstable enough to do so).

[aaronmjr]

Don't be stupid, report it to the police! It takes like 15 mins to fill out the stupid report, and it will make all the difference in the world if he tries to fuck with you (and he sounds unstable enough to do so).

sounds good Big D. thanks for saving me from my own stupidity. :p I will call them after work, I promise.

[Ryan Stewart]

Wait, they have your addy but you dont have theirs? You didnt check ID for the contract or anything?

[aaronmjr]

Wait, they have your addy but you dont have theirs? You didnt check ID for the contract or anything?

Of course I did. I didn't make a photocopy of it though. :( I have one of their work addresses so hopefully that will suffice.

[MIKe30]

Of course I did. I didn't make a photocopy of it though. :( I have one of their work addresses so hopefully that will suffice.

overall what a shitty situation. no one likes having to look over their shoulder all the time. did you call the police like you promised?

wish you the best. shit that sucks.

[thull]

Sorry to resurrect the thread but what a couple of douschenozzles. $7500 for a 10 year old 100k mile Benz and they thought it would be cheap to maintain? Ballers on a budget I guess, what do you think they'll do when it needs new tires?

So how did this turn out did they leave you alone?