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eBay car purchase (long and complicated!)

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jojomomo2002

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? MO

I recently purchased a car on eBay for my sister in CA. The seller is also in CA and claimed the car was donated to a non-profit concern of which he was president. I wired the money directly from my bank account to his.

The ad specifically states the car has been smog checked and will pass. CA law REQUIRES a valid smog certificate before a car can be sold. I even paid him extra to get the smog certificate, because he said as a non-profit organization they were exempt from having to get the smog check. (I've since found out this is a lie--see here.)

In October, a month before the auction, (I found this out from the documents he gave my sister) he took the car to the smog center and it failed and was designated a GROSS POLLUTER. The day after the auction ended, he took it back and received the same result, FAIL, but never divulged any of this to me. I paid him to deliver the car to my sister with the understanding that he would drive it there (one reason why I thought it must be a fairly decent car--he was willing to drive it 170 miles) and have someone follow him to bring him back. Instead, he hauled it there on a trailer.

There are other fraudulent statements as well, such as rebuilt engine three years ago but documents he furnished at delivery were for a used motor installed in a different vehicle entirely. When he delivered the car, he told my sister she could use the receipt from the "rebuilt" motor to get an exemption from the smog check due to the amount of money spent. The car had a temporary smog sticker on it, but we found out that was only so the car could be repaired and then driven back to the smog station. We have since found out it will cost about $2000 to bring this car up to specs because one of the cylinders is blown along with a ton of other problems.

Even if the car could pass the smog check, she still couldn't register it because the only thing he gave her in the way of a title was an "Application For Transfer of Title with Duplicate Title" which shows the original title is lost and it's also filled out incorrectly and improperly signed and the DMV won't accept it. The registered owner's name IS NOT the name of his non-profit organization, and he told my sister he was acting as "agent" for the woman on the application. My sister sent me copies of all the documents he gave her, and after inspecting his signature on some of them, it appears to me (AND I AM BY NO MEANS A HANDWRITTING EXPERT) that his signature and the signature of the woman on the application are very similiar.

I tried to contact him for a month and also enlisted the aid of Square Trade, but he didn't respond to either of us until a few days ago. He called while I was out and my spouse talked to him. He claimed he had been out of the country for the last month and was "shocked" at all the email he had received from me and Square Trade regarding the car. To my knowledge, he hasn't yet contacted Square Trade.

He told my spouse my sister could get around the registration problems by going to Oregon to register the car and then he would send her temporary stickers every few months so she could drive it in CA. Of course, that is totally unacceptable. The car isn't safe to drive anyway.

One recourse under CA law is to have the car repaired and then go to small claims court where the owner would be required to pay for them. I hesitate to do that because the listed owner is someone other than him and I don't want to place a hardship on an innocent party. The car hadn't been licensed since 2002 and I personally think he got it from a junk yard, not from the registered owner.

Sorry to be so long winded, but as you can see, it's complicated. What are your views on filing in small claims court? I realize I would have to travel to CA, but it would be a good excuse to visit my sister. :rolleyes: Is he guilty of wire fraud since I wired the money at his instruction to his bank account? What really makes me mad :mad: is him using his non-profit organization as a front. I thought I would be helping my sister and also helping them, but it appears to be a scam. Your thoughts are appreciated.
 
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divgradcurl

Senior Member
One recourse under CA law is to have the car repaired and then go to small claims court where the owner would be required to pay for them. I hesitate to do that because the listed owner is someone other than him and I don't want to place a hardship on an innocent party. The car hadn't been licensed since 2002 and I personally think he got it from a junk yard, not from the registered owner.
You mayu not want to go to small claims court, but this is really your only recourse. A seller of a car in CA, as you are aware, is required to provide a smog certificate -- but just because the car won't pass now isn't grounds to void the transaction. You'll either have to fix the car yourself and go after him in small claims court, or just wait for him to either fix the car or to buy the car back from you -- and I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

As far as the "innocent party" in concerned, you have some documentation that the person who sold you the car is the seller, right? Then you can name both of the parties in the suit -- the person who is listed as "owning" the car prior to sale, and the person who sold you the car. The "innocent owner," if that is indeed the case, can then present evidence to the judge that he transferred title to the seller, even if the DMV records don't show it, and then he'll be off the hook. Let the "innocent owner" handle his own mess -- you need to protect your rights. If the "innocent owner" is indeed innocent, he'll be okay.

Is he guilty of wire fraud since I wired the money at his instruction to his bank account?
Who knows? Contact the FBI and the local police in his area to see if they are interested in pursuing this angle. I wouldn't count on it, but it's worth a try.

However -- the main point is this -- in order to get this sorted out, you'll need to go to court, in CA, small claims if the amount is under $5,000. Next time make sure you check everything out PRIOR to plunking down your money, so you don't run into this situation again...
 

jmm1958_5

Junior Member
I am the sister of jojomomo2002.

I did not receive any paperwork from the seller of the vehicle indicating that the person named on the DMV papers had in fact sold the car to this man or his donated the car to the non-profit organization. All paperwork is in the name of the last owner with the exception of the invoices he supplied to show work having been done on the car. As far as we can tell neither he or his organization had any right to sell this vehicle other than the statement he made to me that he was the agent for the named person. We have no verification that this person gave to car to him or asked him to sell it for her. The invoices are in 2 different names - neither his or the listed owners.
I am checking into the possibility of criminal activity - however I have been told that if the car is or was listed as stolen I can be held for receiving stolen property - because I have possession of the vehicle. I cannot drive it and my landlord is threatening to have it towed away since it has no registration and I cannot register it with the paperwork he provided me. He did not even provide a bill of sale.
He brought the car on a trailer then just took off before I could ask any questions about the paperwork or the car.
 

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