Does this sound right ? ( Car-legal issue).

[Doug]

A friend sold to a private party an old used car some months ago. This was a beater, maybe a $1,000 car or so.

The buyer apparently never registered the car ( probably just put some license plate, and drove it).

The car was abandoned on a city street, and towed, been in storage for some time I guess.

Now they trace the car back to her, since the buyer never registered it. They want like 3k in towing and storage fees, trying to put a lien on her house.

Is this legal ?

How can you be sure the buyer will register it ?

 

[tatehill2000]

great question doug, NO they cant attacha lein to the house, thats insane, the vehicle has nothing to do with someones home, especially with the fact that you sold it in good faith,

as long as she shows up in a nice suit, and whatever PROOF you haave that you sold it, (noterized title) the judge will dismiss it immediately,

tater

 

[hippieki11er]

A lien sounds a bit much, but that's a state issue most likely, so it's always possible.

Did your friend at least sign over the pink slip to the new owner and maintain a copy of it? If not, things could get a bit hairy.

 

[Doug]

I'm not sure if she kept a copy of it. Here (CT) the buyer gets the title at the time of sale, the seller signs it over, takes the plates, and payment, and its a deal. Few would think to make a copy,and actually verify the buyers' ID on a junker they got cash for.

I'm sure many people never make a copy of the title. I didn't the last time I sold a truck here.

I'm guessing the buyer just bought it as a disposable car with no intentions of ever registering or insuring it.

Buyers of these cheap cars probably do it all the time. Our DMV is pretty screwed up.

I could definetly see illegal aliens pulling this, or just poor people. Insurance could run much more than the car costs.

 

[Doug]

This seems to be a loophole, if the buyer never applies for a new title in their name and registration ( which requires insurance, and a DL).

I'll bet my friend will also get stuck with property taxes on it, the state won't ever know she sold it, if the buyer just drives it.

Our license plates no longer have registration stickers with the month and year on them, that goes in the front window, so it would be easy to use any old plate on the beater car. No need to bother with inspection and smog tests either.

I wonder what happens if such a vehicle gets in a major accident, and the "owner" just takes off running, and gets away ? Do they go after you ?

8 Once you sell car for cash in CT it is important to finalize the sale. Laws governing car for cash in CT sales vary state to state. This information is available on the Web. It is important to limit liability after you sell car for cash in CT. Only accept cash in CT or check for selling car for cash in CT. Then you need to sign over title to the buyer and provide them with a bill of sale. Don’t forget to notify insurance company to cancel policy.

 

[PO69]

Anytime that I have sold a car to someone, I always drove the car to the title office and made sure that the title was switched and paid for.

That doesnt work for everyone, but what if they use that car to rob a store or something?

 

[PO69]

You, or your friends Doug, always seem to have alot of car issues. You need to just stick with buying a brand new car each time. With warranties and rebates, they are the way to go.


Now i know that penny pinchers will come in here and say that you should buy a 2 year old car. But I say BULLSHIT to that. Lets say that you want to buy a car with a sticker of $30,000. Well first of all, almost no one pays the sticker price, so lets shoot that down to $28,000, although many would get it to $26,000. Now you would factor in rebates of $1500-3000. So you are paying around $26000 for that $30000 car. Most times, the price of a 2 year old car is based on the sticker price of the new version of that car. BUT THAT PRICE DOESNT INCLUDE REBATES OR price discounts.

So you might pay $20000 for the same car that is 2 years old with 30,000 miles or so while you could buy a new one for around $25000-26000.


Newer cars obviously would get better gas mileage as well. And you never know how that car was driven.


Stick to new cars and keep them until the $100,000 mile warranty goes out, then buy another one. I havent had to go a mechanic for a car in over 18 years. Now maybe I brought 2 into the dealer for repairs, but that was free.

 

[Doug]

Anytime that I have sold a car to someone, I always drove the car to the title office and made sure that the title was switched and paid for.

That doesnt work for everyone, but what if they use that car to rob a store or something?

DMV procedures are different everywhere, here the title comes in the mail about 1-2 months after you register the car.

 

[MIKEY.1TIME]

does she have a copy of the bill of sale? and in ct. arent you supposed to call your tax assessors office to get the car off your property tax list? if so, she will be fine

 

[Doug]

does she have a copy of the bill of sale? and in ct. arent you supposed to call your tax assessors office to get the car off your property tax list? if so, she will be fine

I don't know if she has a copy of the bill of sale.

Often the seller winds up with cash, and the buyer gets the car,title, and bill of sale. The buyer could give a false name, if he wanted to pull this no registration scam, who asks for ID on a cash sale ? So you may have no idea of who actually bought it.

Yes, you need to contact the tax assessor, in the town you reside in, to remove it from the list, but that is a year behind.

Hopefully she did that. She should have since she works in the insurance industry, and should know the ropes.

The car wasn't even hers, it was her brother's car, but registered and insured under her name, since brother had some tickets and stuff, and would be paying more for insurance.

The tax issue hopefully saves her.

At least if you deal with a place like Carmax when selling, you don't have to worry about this stuff.

 

[PO69]

DMV procedures are different everywhere, here the title comes in the mail about 1-2 months after you register the car.

Well even in Texas the title comes 1-2 months later, but ON That day THE sale is official. Also it is a good way to see that the buyer pays taxes on the sale. But at the DMV, the buyer pays the TTL and the sale is official right then and there

 

[OnePocket]

I use to drive a wrecker for a wrecker service back when I was in High School, and back then the only thing they did was after 90 days that your car sat on their lot, they would send you a registered letter telling you if you dont pick the vehicle up in 10 days that the vehicle would be auctioned off and you got nothing out of the auction so basically you lose your vehicle.

I would tell them to fuck off there is no way in hell they can do shit except aution the car off for what ever they get for it and write the rest off as a loss, this must be some MOM & POP operation just trying some scare tactic hopefully he/she gets scared and comes and gets their car.

Because if $3000 is owed for storage and the tow fee, more than likely they cant get $1000 for it through the auction so their just trying to pull some shit cause they know they will lose a little money, tell them welcome to America the land of I just got fucked............

 

[Doug]

I think they just let the car sit on some lot for months, to run up a storage bill, hoping it gets paid.

The car is obviously not worth much. It's a Honda ( Prelude, I think), maybe a 1995 or so. It must be non-running.

 

[Doug]

You, or your friends Doug, always seem to have alot of car issues. You need to just stick with buying a brand new car each time. With warranties and rebates, they are the way to go.


Now i know that penny pinchers will come in here and say that you should buy a 2 year old car. But I say BULLSHIT to that. Lets say that you want to buy a car with a sticker of $30,000. Well first of all, almost no one pays the sticker price, so lets shoot that down to $28,000, although many would get it to $26,000. Now you would factor in rebates of $1500-3000. So you are paying around $26000 for that $30000 car. Most times, the price of a 2 year old car is based on the sticker price of the new version of that car. BUT THAT PRICE DOESNT INCLUDE REBATES OR price discounts.

So you might pay $20000 for the same car that is 2 years old with 30,000 miles or so while you could buy a new one for around $25000-26000.


Newer cars obviously would get better gas mileage as well. And you never know how that car was driven.


Stick to new cars and keep them until the $100,000 mile warranty goes out, then buy another one. I havent had to go a mechanic for a car in over 18 years. Now maybe I brought 2 into the dealer for repairs, but that was free.

I still think there is great value in the RIGHT used car.

This one looks like a possibility for my step-daughter, instead of a new car.

http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/875036161.html

Note she isn't involved in this thing with the towing charges, but her fiance is the guy with the Prelude, she just needs a different car, there is a thread on that.

 

[texansfan]

Here's what you do in Texas. I'm sure your state has something similar. FWIW, I wouldn't pay a dime.

Protecting Yourself After a Sale
If you have sold a vehicle, one of the most important things you can do is to submit the Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification (Form VTR-346). This will let the authorities know not to send out registration renewal notices, parking tickets, and other correspondence that no longer applies to you.

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.

 

[Doug]

It is not me, I'd say so if it was. I don't see her very often, heard the story through these others SD, fiance, etc. She didn't even want to talk about it, (to me at least), she doesn't know I can find out stuff like this from you guys, at least good opinions, without hiring a lawyer.

It sounded fucked up to me, got me thinking about how to ever sell a car myself privately.

I'll pass the info to the peeps involved.

Thanks, Tex... your opinion is valued.

 

[Doug]

Tex: Is everything back to normal after the hurricane ?

 

[texansfan]

Tex: Is everything back to normal after the hurricane ?

I had a little roof damage. The insurance company is coming by on Wed/Day to check it out. Everything in the city is back to normal though. Thanks for asking Doug...

 

[Doug]

Wed/Day

:nohead::missingte:lol::cripwalk:

 

[nhoj]

Best $5 you ever spend in Texas for sure.

Here's what you do in Texas. I'm sure your state has something similar. FWIW, I wouldn't pay a dime.

Protecting Yourself After a Sale
If you have sold a vehicle, one of the most important things you can do is to submit the Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification (Form VTR-346). This will let the authorities know not to send out registration renewal notices, parking tickets, and other correspondence that no longer applies to you.

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.