unknowingly sold altered dirt bike

[bach]

I am in California orange county.

I traded a mini bike for a larger dirt bike and it has no title from CRAIGSLIST.ORG.

Later on I then sold it unknowingly that there was no vin I gave him a paper that i wrote and said i sold him the dirt bike on this date and signed it and gave him my address.

the person that i sold it to was pulled over and the vin was checked but there was NO VIN NUMBER.

He called me telling me that he needed to go to court and the dirt bike was impounded. He said that it will be put on me because i sold him the dirtbike.

I have all emails that the person i got the dirtbike from and his name email and city.

i emailed him telling him that there is a problem and asked for his number. he replied but said he could not talk he was busy.

I am afraid he will run off if i said what was really going on.

the person i sold the dirtbike to asked me to do a notary that said i sold it to him. i dont know what to do. i am 17 years old and need advice. He also threatened to sue me for the money he paid for the dirtbike.

what will happen? will i get in trouble with the law? PLEASE HELP

 

[SnowCajun]

Did you get a title signed over to you when you purchased this dirt bike? If so how did they come up with a title for a bike without a VIN number? Secondly, as I see it and I'm not an attorney, it may come back on you since you sold a bike that can't be licensed, if so then you'd have to go back and sue the person who sold it to you since they sold you a bike that can't be titled. You're not supposed to be able to sell anything with an unclear or cloudy title, and I think altered to the point that there's not a proper VIN number clouds the title.

Initially I wasn't going to respond, but since no one else did I figured I'd give it a shot. My suggestion is to get on the phone with motor vehicle licensing bureau and find out for sure.

 

[Hoe1979]

I’m confused dirt bikes in Iowa do not have titles. Is this a dual sport or endro? Maybe I’m just lost.

 

[Zigner]

Just wanted to throw an extra wrench in to things...OP is a MINOR

Discuss...

 

[SnowCajun]

I’m confused dirt bikes in Iowa do not have titles. Is this a dual sport or endro? Maybe I’m just lost.

That was my first thought also, but when he stated, "the person that i sold it to was pulled over and the vin was checked but there was NO VIN NUMBER" I felt it must be one of those dirt bikes that has headlights and all for the road also ... maybe he'll let us know! I don't know if off road only dirt bikes require a VIN number or not, but if it's configured for street use as well then it would because that would require a license plate and the plates would require a title!

 

[bach]

the new owner of the bike said the vin was scratched off and when he purchased he didnt know about the vin neither. when I traded for the dirtbike i didnt check for that either and the guy i got it from is trying to hide but i have his name email address and city he lives in. and all the emails i have of him making the trade with me. will this be enough proof that i did not alter or steal this bike?

 

[SnowCajun]

the new owner of the bike said the vin was scratched off and when he purchased he didnt know about the vin neither. when I traded for the dirtbike i didnt check for that either and the guy i got it from is trying to hide but i have his name email address and city he lives in. and all the emails i have of him making the trade with me. will this be enough proof that i did not alter or steal this bike?

I initially responded because your post sat a couple of days with no response, also because of your age, and I figured if nothing else I could give you some things to think about and point you in a direction to start looking. Like my signature says, I'm not an attorney, but I am 56 years old and have been around the block a few times in life and wanted you to at least receive some kind of direction here.

If you live with your parents I would highly suggest bringing them into the picture immediately, it's time! If not then for me to try speculate if others will think you did or didn't alter or steal the bike, I just can't make a shot in the dark assumption like that, how would I know?

Your very first sentence in this last post you made is somewhat confusing to me, you seem to contradict your own statement when you first say, "the new owner of the bike said the vin was scratched off", then in the same breath you state, "and when he purchased he didnt know about the vin neither". If he didn't know about the VIN either then how did he know it was scratched off when he purchased it?

It would help if you'd answer all our questions if you've thoroughly read our posts. Was this a street legal bike, did it have headlights and taillights ect? If so where is the original title, did you not get one when you first obtained the bike? Last but not least, are the police suspecting this bike is stolen, I mean the ones who stopped the guy on the bike and discovered it was altered and the VIN removed?? If you want people to help you need to include all the info.