lawsuit threats over vehicle sale

[gabb]

What is the name of your state?AZ

Hello,

Six months ago I sold an RV trailer to an unknown party. The trailer
was in AZ and I live in MI now, so a friend of mine facilitated the
sale. The buyer agreed that there was no title, or reg or plates, (we
later sent him the title), but happily paid cash and payed the fees to
get it out of the storage lot, and went on his way. We mentioned he
could probably get a "Lost Title form or some such).

He specifically bargained, (begged for 3 days), the price down $200
on the premise "I wont bother you for any re-titling, re-registering
issues, or ask anything more of you in the future.) (Still, we sent
him the Title)

I am told that he lived in the trailer with his wife full time for 4
or 5 months at a local PHX trailer park. During that time, my friend
mentioned that the guy had been calling, asking about a bill of sale.

I have never heard directly from this person, until today when I
received the following letter: Can anyone tell me if this guy has a
case against me? Should I be worried?
Thanx for your help. Below his letter is my intended response.
----------------------------



Dear Mr. XXXXx:
Six months ago, you and XXXXXXX sold me a travel trailer. I paid, but
didn't get the title or any other proof of ownership. I trusted my
good friend Ron, and he trusted his good friend, you, to follow up with
the paperwork. But this hasn't happened.

I believe that six months is an exorbitant length of time for me to
wait. I plan to sell the trailer, and now I have missed the prime
selling season of September-October. I am paying $50 a month for
trailer storage in the meantime.

Under the circumstances, I feel I have no choice other than to ask for
my money back. In addition to the $2,600 purchase price, I also want
reimbursement of the storage fee that was due when I got the trailer,
$245.35. Further, I want reimbursement of $50 per month for storage
currently; this totals $120.40 through November, plus $50.20 ($60.20 if
late) per month until you take possession of the trailer. These total
$2965.75 currently.

A deadline of December 31 will give you enough time to settle this
account with me. If you do not settle by then, you may expect a lawsuit
that, unfortunately, will also involve Ron.
I feel you have been really irresponsible in this matter, and it is
time to settle it.
Sincerely yours,
-----------------


So there it is. And here was my response, which I have not mailed yet.:


Mr. XXXXXXX

Your email comes as a surprise to me as I have never received any
correspondence from you before.

Ron XXXX informed me that he had given you a bill of sale that was
satisfactory to you at the time. You agreed that the
vehicle was sold "as-is", with no warranty written or implied. You
also negotiated $200 off the price under the agreement that "No
services such as Title renewal, licensing or any other sort of help or
assistance” would be asked of either Ron or me.

While it is regrettable that you missed the prime sales season,
again, I have never received and correspondence from you on this matter
before today, so I am not sure why that is my fault. You say you had no bill of sale. (You did in fact have Title).

Did some of your potential buyers demand to see the "Bill of Sale"? Did you in fact ask Ron to see his "Bill of Sale" before YOU bought the trailer?

I would be happy to send you a Bill of Sale to replace the one you
misplaced. Ron recently mailed me back the Title without explanation,
so I would be happy to send that as well. However I will have to
decline your offer for a refund, as I am sure you can understand. You
were very happy when you bought it, and it was a fair and square deal.
You paid the storage fees and removed it from the lot, and lived in it
comfortably for quite some time. Now, 6-8 months later, you say you
never got a bill of sale and you want a refund?
Again, I will be happy to send you another copy of the bill of sale
and Title, just let me know if you still want them.
XXXXXXXXXXX
------------------
Thank you for your opinions
Reply

 

[JETX]

Simple response. Show him the agreement where he agreed to accept the trailer 'as is', where is and that the deal was "no title, or reg or plates".

Or you can show him your 'sold notice' form:
https://www.dot.state.az.us/mvd/vehicle/SoldNotice/default.asp

 

[gabb]

Thank you for your reply,

Well,.....unfortunately, I was not there when the sale took place, and I do not have those documents. Should i just send in the online form now, just to get it in there?

The situation was, the trailer belonged to my dad,who now lives in FL. I went down to PHX on his behalf to dispose of the trailer. My Dad had none of the paperwork, and the trailer had been stored on this lot for four years so the plates and reg were no good, even if i knew where they were.


I told my friend Ron, if he wanted to get tires for it/on it, and pay the storage fees, he could fix it up a bit and sell it, and cut me in 50/50.
So, I fly back to MI, and in no time at all, he finds a buyer who want to pay cash. the buyer says he needs the trailer ASAP as he just got back in town, and doesn't want to have to lease an apt,says he'll just file a lost title claim, throw the tires on it himself, and blah blah.

After I left, Ron did find the Title, but i never signed it over, as i was not there.

I now have the title, as for some reason, the buyer never picked it up from Ron, and he sent it back to me.



So Ron takes his money, the guy takes the trailer, pays the lot fees, and leaves. Ron sends me my cut, and now 6 months later, the buyer wants a refund.

Should I just sign the Title, and send him that and a bill of sale?
Should i backdate the title signing/sale date?
should i backdate the sale date on the online form?

Thanks to any and all who opine!

B.G.