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Sold my 1993 van on craiglist, two days later, buyer wants to return it.

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kendomarz

Junior Member
State: California

I sold my 1993 Ford e-150 Conversion van to a buyer here in California. I'm originally from washington, so the plates are still registered and up to date in Washington (no california platers). I sold the van for $7000, my original asking price was $8200. I haven't been using the van much anymore, so it's been sitting a lot, but the few times i've driven it around, it's run great, no smoke, starts up right away, etc (I don't know much about cars).

The buyer came by and loved it, she has a mechanic look at the vehicle, and ended up finding a few things wrong: oil leaking dripping on the exhaust and causing some smoke (not sure how I'd never noticed, but it was probably because I hadn't driven it any long distances in a while. There were some smaller things as well, but nothing else major. The mechanic said that all the repairs together would run about 3-4k. upon hearing this, I was surprised because I hadn't had any issues or noticed anything, but since I don't know much about cars, I decided that the mechanic probably knew best, so we haggled on bringing the price down because the buyer was still very interested in the van because the interior was so nice (It's a great little camper van and she wanted to save on rent and live in it like so many millennials do these days). I sold it to her for $7000, she came with her dad and they paid me with a personal check, which i was fine with because I trusted them both and I got a photo of his ID (her dad paid the up-front cost).

Fast forward to today, he emails me saying that the first gas station they went to, they noticed a gas leak (this was not noted by the mechanic). He also said that after they noticed the gas leak, they drove it home and it started to smoke (which was exactly what the mechanic said would happen due to the oil leaking onto the exhaust). He says now he wants to return it and offered me $250 to take it back. I'm in a bit of a pickle, because A. He had a mechanic come and look at it and the mechanic told them all the things that were wrong with it. and B. now if I take the van back, it apparently has a ton of issues that all of a sudden popped up once he drove it away from my house. and C. The personal check hasn't cleared, and I'm not sure if he will cancel the check now that he wants to return the van.

I know I have the law on my side, and that California protects me under the lemon law. He knew what was wrong with the van (even though somehow this gas leak wasn't noticed). Does he have any sort of right to ask for a refund? Can he take me to small claims? Would he even have a shot at winning? I obviously was as open and honest with the buyers as possible, but sometimes sh*t happens... I feel bad, but not bad enough to take back a van, that has more issues with it now than it did when it left my driveway. Is there a possibility of this being a scam? I trusted both the young girl and her father, but I've heard of more elaborate scams in my life. What do I do if he cancels the check and doesn't return the van? Who do I report it to? The cops? Craigslist? The bank? Any help is appreciated.
 


adjusterjack

Senior Member
Yes, the law is on your side.

They had a mechanic inspect, they got the price down, they bought it as is.

Next time you talk to the guy, tell him that and add "Don't ever call me again."

Then shut up and hope he doesn't stop payment on the check.

If he does you will find out very painfully why taking a check for $7000 was the biggest damned fool mistake you'll have ever made in your life.

PS: The lemon law has absolutely nothing to do with this.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Yes, the law is on your side.
I'm not so sure - the OP broke the law by not properly registering the vehicle in California. The OP may, in fact, be better off unwinding this deal and then properly registering the vehicle in the state before trying to sell it in the state.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
I'm not so sure - the OP broke the law by not properly registering the vehicle in California. The OP may, in fact, be better off unwinding this deal and then properly registering the vehicle in the state before trying to sell it in the state.
Do we know that the OP was in CA long enough to require the vehicle to be registered there?
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Do we know that the OP was in CA long enough to require the vehicle to be registered there?
Once the vehicle arrived in California with the intention of remaining there, i.e., is "based" in the state, the vehicle is required to be registered in the state. The California Vehicle Code Section is VC 4000.4, but the state's site is down right now so I'm not able to post the actual wording. Here is the link: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH...4000.4

ETA: Here's the cached version: (a) Except as provided in Sections 6700, 6702, and 6703, any vehicle which is registered to a nonresident owner, and which is based in California or primarily used on California highways, shall be registered in California.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Once the vehicle arrived in California with the intention of remaining there, i.e., is "based" in the state, the vehicle is required to be registered in the state. The California Vehicle Code Section is VC 4000.4, but the state's site is down right now so I'm not able to post the actual wording. Here is the link: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH...4000.4

ETA: Here's the cached version: (a) Except as provided in Sections 6700, 6702, and 6703, any vehicle which is registered to a nonresident owner, and which is based in California or primarily used on California highways, shall be registered in California.
Doesn't the statutes contain some kind of language as to how long they have to be there to have the intent to remain? I know that in some state its 30 days.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Doesn't the statutes contain some kind of language as to how long they have to be there to have the intent to remain? I know that in some state its 30 days.
I posted the statute ;)

Of course, a person's not going to get a ticket the first night they park it in their driveway. In this case, however, I suspect from the OP that the van's been in California for quite some time.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
I'm not so sure - the OP broke the law by not properly registering the vehicle in California. The OP may, in fact, be better off unwinding this deal and then properly registering the vehicle in the state before trying to sell it in the state.
You're right.

I overlooked that part.

He would probably have to comply with CA smog requirements, too.
 

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