I 'sold' a car....

[clball2]

State: North Carolina

I'm not sure where to put this question so I'll post it here. I set a car out at the entrance to our development with a FOR SALE sign in it back on January 14th. It wasn't long before I got a call. I met the man at the car where we then took it for a test drive. This was a Saturday before a holiday which meant the banks were closed Monday. Anyway, the man loved the car and agreed to buy it for the $1250 asking price [I knew it was sold cheap, ACV was about $3000 still] and offered me a check for $200 as a deposit until the following Tuesday. He said he had the money but since the banks were closed he couldn't get cash until Tuesday and only wanted to leave a deposit to hold the car until then. I told him to write in the memo section that it was for a deposit, balance of $1050 which he did. I had his cell phone # and he had mine.

The following Tuesday came and went. I called his cell # Wednesday, several times to no avail. There was no answer and no ability to leave a message on his phone. He called me that night telling me to cash the check, it might be Friday until he could give me the balance since he was out of town. OK, Thursday I go to his bank and cash the check, no problems. I get a call Saturday asking me to meet him at the local Citgo station so he could give me the money. I drove the car he bought and when I pull up and get out he says "You didn't need to drive the car, I don't have all the money yet". I asked him what he meant and he said he has $700 and the rest in a few days. He said he had some bills come up and was short but gets paid Thursday. I told him I didn't want this payment hassle but I agreed to I accept the $700 and gave him a hand written reciept stating he paid $200 by check on X date, $700 cash on X date with a balance due of $350 by 1/25/06. He signed a bill of sale for me also, stating the balance due by 1/25/06.

You guessed it, the 25th came and went and to date not 1 phone call from him. I've tried MANY times to call him to no avail. I've went to the bank to see if they'll give me an address but they wont due to privacy issues. The local police tried looking up his name and found 20 of the same name. He's of Mexican decent and they said "good look trying to find him". I called the magistrate and she had no sound advice except to attempt sending him a letter giving X amount of days or forfeit the $ or file suit for the balance [and damages] if I could find out his address. She also said that I can't re-sell it or he could potentially sue me for any profits/loss. In other words, if I sold it again for the same amount and returned his monies, he could sue me for breech of contract and claim the $3000 as ACV of which I would owe him that amount as damages.

I don't know what to do. I wanted this car sold but not on payments either. I agreed to it but I also covered my butt with a balance due by X date. Had I known it would be this way from the beginning I surely would have waited for a capable buyer. I signed off on the title and entered his name [although I still have the title], this was before I left to meet him on the 21st when I expected to have full payment. I'll have to apply for a new title to sell again, that's up to 4 weeks and extra fees involved. It's tax return season which is a prime time to sell a car in this price bracket however I can't do anything now. My home owners association has also complained about it being in my drive with no tags.

I'd really like for this guy to come pay the balance and take the car but I'm helpless. What can/should I do? I can't believe someone has given me $900 and just disappears!

What to do?

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by clball2

State: North Carolina

I'm not sure where to put this question so I'll post it here. I set a car out at the entrance to our development with a FOR SALE sign in it back on January 14th. It wasn't long before I got a call. I met the man at the car where we then took it for a test drive. This was a Saturday before a holiday which meant the banks were closed Monday. Anyway, the man loved the car and agreed to buy it for the $1250 asking price [I knew it was sold cheap, ACV was about $3000 still] and offered me a check for $200 as a deposit until the following Tuesday. He said he had the money but since the banks were closed he couldn't get cash until Tuesday. I told him to write in the memo section that it was for a deposit, balance $1050. I had his cell phone # and he had mine.

The following Tuesday came and went. I called his cell # Wednesday, several times to no avail. There was no answer and no ability to leave a message on his phone. He called me that night telling me to cash the check, it might be Friday until he could give me the balance since he was out of town. OK, Thursday I go to his bank and cash the check. I get a call Saturday asking me to meet him at the local Citgo station so he could give me the money. I drove the car he bought and when I pull up and get out he says "You didn't need to drive the car, I don't have all the money yet". I asked him what he meant and he said he has $700 and the rest in a few days. IHe said he had some bills come up and was short but gets paid Thursday. I told him I didn't want this payment hassle but I agreed to I accept the $700 and gave him a hand written reciept stating he paid $200 by check on X date, $700 cash on X date with a balance due of $350 by 1/25/06. He signed a bill of sale for me also, stating the balance due by 1/25/06.

You guessed it, the 25th came and went and to date not 1 phone call from him. I've tried MANY times to call him to no avail. I've went to the bank to see if they'll give me an address but they wont due to privacy issue. The local police tried looking up his name and found 20 of the same name. He's of Mexican decent and they said "good look trying to find him". I called the magistrate and she had no sound advice except to attempt sending him a letter giving X amount of days or forfeit the $. She also said that I can't re-sell it or he could potentially sue me for any profits/loss. In other words, if I sold it again for the same amount and returned his monies, he could sue me for breech of contract and claim the $3000 as ACV of which I would owe him that amount as damages.

I don't know what to do. I wanted this car sold but not on payments either. I agreed to it but I also covered my butt with a balance due by X date. Had I known it would be this way from the beginning I surely would have waited for a capable buyer. I signed off on the title and entered his name [although I still have the title], this was before I left to meet him on the 21st when I expected to have full payment. I'll have to apply for a new title to sell again, that's up to 4 weeks and extra fees involved. It's tax return season which is a prime time to sell a car in this price bracket however I can't do anything now. My home owners association has also complained about it being in my drive with no tags.

I'd really like for this guy to come pay the balance and take the car but I'm helpless. What can/should I do? I can't believe someone has given me $900 and just disappears! I'm not looking to keep this guys money either but it looks like he could sue me for damages more than he paid based on the ACV.

What to do?

How will you sue him if you don't know where he is?

[clball2]

seniorjudge:

From the magistrate:

"she had no sound advice except to attempt sending him a letter giving X amount of days or forfeit the $ or file suit for the balance [and damages] if I could find out his address"

'IF' I could find out his address, is the key

What she said exactly was that I could send a certifed letter giving him 10 days to pay up or forfeit his $ or file suit for the balance plus ask for court costs & damages for taking more time than agreed upon causing this action to be taken. Of course that's IF I knew his address and if I knew that right here today I'd simply ask him to pay me the balance.

She's never dealt with any such case so her advice was limited. She did say that if he came back and said he didn't want the car, requested all of his $ back and I refused, he could sue me for it and I am obligated to return it. That kind of contridicts her other statement about filing suit for the balance plus costs & damages.

It's just a pain in the butt I never envisioned when selling a car and I have no clue what to do or what my rights are.

[Ladynred]

You never should have signed over the title to this guy without FULL PAYMENT in the first place. If it were me I'd have given him back his $200 at the first hint of trouble, said' thanks but no thanks' and take the car back home !!

[clball2]

I agree, hindsight is 20/20 but..... in my defense

I never suspected any payment problems. He said the $200 check was a good faith deposit and so I would hold the car until the next Tuesday. He needed a little extra time, called and told me to cash the check, it cashed, no big problem. He called to meet me "so he could give me the money", I assumed the balance so I had signed the title and had it notarized in advance of meeting him. NC notarization requires that I fill in the buyers name, sale date and selling price as part of the notarization. I agreed to the $700 cash payment with the balance by Jan 25th and put it in writing. I'm all for helping someone out, this is why so few are anymore I guess.

So, with that said, what should/can I do now?

[clball2]

Is there a better forum to post this question in? I really would like to know what to do.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by clball2

Is there a better forum to post this question in? I really would like to know what to do.

Find the person.

Sue the person.