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Questions About Private Sale Transactions

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Comments

  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    a bit late, but here goes ...

    there are no tax consequences for you. You sell him the car like you would anyone else. Personally, I would leave the sale price on the title blank and let him fill it in. If he goes too low, they will probably catch and penalize him, though, so warn him of that.

    he will take the title to his local DMV and pay his state taxes to them directly.

    gee, under bluebook, huh? what a pal. ;b
    I'm just joking with you, but seriously, bluebook is typically very high. Unless you mean under bluebook trade-in value.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • mclmommymclmommy Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for your help. I didn't know that bluebook is usually high and I actually was talking about trade-in value on blue book, since that is what I would normally do. I've never privately sold a car before. So, one more question. What if I just give him the car. He doesn't have the money to pay me right now and, hopefully, he'll pay me in the future, but if not, that's ok. What are the tax consequences for him and can we just do this free and clear? Do we write "gift" on the title? What if he does end up paying me in the future?
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    That's a state law thing. Here in NJ, they will charge you for the fair value of the car no matter what you write on there.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • driverightdriveright Member Posts: 91
    Seller needs to check the state regulations in the brother's state. If they tax title changes by gift between siblings, they may be able to avoid tax by transferring the title by gift to a parent, then by gift from the parent to the brother. This may not be allowed in any care, because the car is coming from out of state and has never been taxed in the brother's state. Someone needs to get on the website of the DMV in his state to learn the rules. Of course, the car has to be worth enough to go to this trouble.

    If not gifting the car, set the value at the Private Party level. If not receiving full payment immediately, consider keeping a lien on the car.

    It will take some planning to sort out the best course of action.
  • jainctjainct Member Posts: 5
    Hello:

    A friend of mine purchased a car from supposely a good friend for x amount of dollars. My friend was to make payments on the car which he did each month and finished paying it off 6 months later. During this time, my friend drove the car under the sellers insurance and registration.

    Now that the car was paid in full (with a bill of sale) my friend tried to retrieve the title and his friend kept stalling for time but said he would will give it to him. To make a long story short, the friend has recently passed away and the friends nephew claims the title was held by a bank from another owner which is suppose to be the original owner.

    My friend bought this car and as you can see made a big mistake from the beginning (just because they were friends) only to find out that his friend had no right to sell that car to him since he never owned the car. Of coure there is a lien on the car and my friend had to purchase another vehicle and take this car off the streets because he can't register without the title.

    My question is, has anyone reading this post ever heard or been in this situation before or might know how to fix this problem in a legal way? If in the event nothing can be done what should he do with the car without having any problems for himself?

    Thank you in advance,
    jainct
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    does your friend have any proof at all that he has paid for the car? Without paperwork, he/she is up a creek.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • jainctjainct Member Posts: 5
    Hello gbrozen:

    Thank you for the reply. Yes, he does have the bill of sale that he paid for the car. What does he do from here?

    Thank you in advance,
    jainct
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    well, i'm not a lawyer, but I suppose he has to register a lein against the car. All I can think is that both your friend and the other person who has a lien on the car have legal claims on it. Therefore, it would have to be sold and both parties satisfied with as much money as the situation allows (in other words, if both full owners, then 50% each). Right now, the nephew has no say in anything that happens, as far as I can tell, because he nor the estate own the car. Your friend and this other lien holder do. So it is a battle between them.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    In my state, the first lien on the title has precedence... Only after it is paid, can any other lien be satisfied.. This keeps banks from having their collateral compromised.

    One thing to note: There may be a lien on the car, but that doesn't mean that it hasn't been paid off. It may just be a paperwork issue. Of course, if the nephew is the executor of the estate, your friend will have to deal with him, as a bill of sale won't help you much, without clear title to the car.

    EDIT: I'm not a lawyer, either.. :blush:

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  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    In my state, the first lien on the title has precedence... Only after it is paid, can any other lien be satisfied.. This keeps banks from having their collateral compromised.

    sounds logical. kind of like a 1st and 2nd mortgage.

    Actually, I take back everything I said. I reread the original post and it sounds to me like the seller sold a car he didn't even own or have any rights to whatsoever!!

    The bank holds the title from the ORIGINAL owner, who is not the seller? Good grief! So it sounds like he borrowed the car from someone and sold it??

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    I'm not a lawyer either but I will chime in with what I would do if I were in your friend's situation. First I would get the car out of my possession as quickly as possible since it is registered in the deceased person's name, the car is uninsured (or will be soon) and I do not own it. If anything were to happen to the car, I would be responsible. And why get the grief when you can't enjoy the gravy? Next, I would find out as much information on who the other lien holder is and try to piece together this puzzle. There is a reason the title was not released by the bank. It could be a simple clerical error but most likely money is owed (I think you alluded to this in your post). Once this lien holder finds out the person is deceased, they will be looking for the car to settle the loan.

    Based on your post, it looks like your friend got scammed by the deceased person. That probably was not the original intent but unfortunately he passed away before it could be settled. Even though your friend has a Bill of Sales (hopefully notarized), the deceased had no right to sell the car without settling the first lien. As kydfx suggested, the first lien holder will have first go at this. Your friend may be able to re-coup his money by suing the estate, if there is anything to sue. if I were a family member and found out what the deceased friend did and there was money available, I would try to make it right.

    The other thing that I find interesting is that your friend was willing to drive around for 6 months using the now deceased person's registration and insurance. In my state, that would be considered a violation. Also it does not look good for your friend if this was to ever go to court.
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    Whether intentional or not, the deceased sold a car not titled to him... that's fraud. As someone else posted, your friend will have to sue the estate of the dearly departed. How much we talking about here... one or two thousand? Your friend may be better off just to forget about it.
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • esvmanesvman Member Posts: 3
    I recently purchased a 2001 VW New Beetle two weeks ago from private seller and drove about 250 miles. The engine coolant leaked out and ended up towing it to dealership. I'm not sure how much it would cost to fix it, but I imagine it will be hundreds of dollars. I'm wondering if there's any way I can have seller to pay for it or something. Thanks!!
  • tidestertidester Member Posts: 10,059
    Unless you can specifically prove the coolant leak was caused by the previous owner you won't have a case. And even then you likely have a very difficult time trying to collect.

    Do you have any way of showing that the previous owner used extraordinary means to conceal a leak?

    tidester, host
    SUVs and Smart Shopper
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Sounds to me like the sellers estate will probably be going to probate since he/she passed away. You need to find out who the lawyer is handling the estate and let them know that you have an interest. The executor of the will will be responsible for liquidating the assets of the estate which will include the title lien at the bank.

    I am not a lawyer either.
  • philorockphilorock Member Posts: 5
    hi

    hopefully, i can get a quick reply to this one. i'm selling my car to someone and they will be transporting it overseas (i've met him and we're going to complete the transaction at his bank in new york, so that's not the problem).

    the problem is the NY title is in my deceased wife's name. the dmv requirements for transferring a title in ny is to complete an affidavit and have it notarized with a copy of the death certificate (which i've already done). my concern is that the death certificate contains my wife's social security number and i'm very concerned about that.

    so here's my choices:
    cross out the social security number and give him the title signed by me with the affidavit and death certificate (with crossed-out ss#)

    -or- just sign the title with my wife's name (no affidavit, no death certificate) and don't worry about it since it's going to eastern europe and nobody will even care about it once his has the signed title and bill of sale.

    what would you do?

    thanks,

    phil
  • driverightdriveright Member Posts: 91
    Sorry for your loss.

    I would go with the buyer to the DMV or a private transfer company and present them with the paperwork including the death certificate. The buyer should receive paperwork at that time indicating ownership and a pending title. The buyer would never need to see the SSN on the death certificate.

    Alternatively, you could transfer the title to yourself and later to the buyer.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    "Alternatively, you could transfer the title to yourself and later to the buyer."

    That's what I would do... Get the title in your name. Then, you can immediately transfer it to your buyer.

    Your buyer is taking the car out of the country? Watch out for bogus cashier checks.. :surprise:

    regards,
    kyfdx

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  • jainctjainct Member Posts: 5
    Hello DTOWNFB:

    Yes, for sure my friend was scammed. His friend had no right to sell that car because he never had the title. I told my friend you need to get in touch with the original owner (the person that had the bankloan and lien) to find out why my friends friend had this car from the get go. Maybe the original owner owed money to my friends friend and he sold the car to my friend. My friend was desperate at the time and gave him x amount of dollars up front and paid the rest off in 6 months. I believe the total amount was 5k for 1999 Lexus 300. On top of it my friend paid him for the insurance for the 6 months which was under the friends name including the reg. Now the guy is dead and it looks like he does not have a leg to stand on but what does he do with this car with no insurance and registration. Should he try to reach out to the original owner. It could be the original owner was getting money from my friends friend and not making the payments on the car. I was wondering and should ask my friend how did his friend register and put insurance on the car under his name without the title. What do you think my friend should do with the car? I just want to thank everyone that replied to my post.

    Best regards,
    jainct
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    well, yeah, he's going to have to reach out to whoever has the title and try to figure out what is going on. Otherwise, I think he's got a parts car, at best.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    I didn't want to come out and say your friend was scammed but I guess he was. Again, even with the bill of sale, this is not your friend's car. He can't register it or insure it, so why risk driving it around. One ticket or accident and he is in deep doo doo. Again, why get the grief if you can't enjoy the gravy.

    I would find out who his friend owed the money, contact them regarding this situation, and try to make sense of this situation. The lienholder may not be aware that the man has died. Once they find out, my guess is they will want the car. Maybe your friend can work something out with them once he explains his predicament. I doubt the lienholder wants the car except to maybe sell at auction to recoup their money.

    Most of us get our cars registered and insured with out the title. Normally, the bank holds the title and the registration and insurance reflects this (At least they do in PA).
  • jainctjainct Member Posts: 5
    Hello DTOWNFB:

    So, it looks like my friend could register and insured the car under his name without the title. I'm not saying this would be the right thing to do or should I say the smart thing to do but my friend could actually get the car registered and insured it without the title and no other documents or does he need at least the bill of sale because this is exactly what my friends friend did because my friend drove the car under his registration and insurance for 6 months.

    If all you need is a bill of sale to do this then the original owner had no right to sell that car to my friends friend because the car was owned by the bank. If this is the case then my friend should contact the lein holder and turn the car in explaining the whole situation. Could my friend get in any kind of trouble if he turned the car in explaining what happened.

    Even though my friends,friend that passed away was wrong for selling the car to him but if you think about it the original owner is also wrong for selling the car as well. Two wrongs don't make a right! It looks like my friend was scammed but his friend was also scammed as well since he had possession of that car with no title. The original owner either gave the car to my friends friend with the intent the guy would make the payments or sold him the car for x amount of dollars (one sum of money) and the original owner stalled with the title and then my friends friend did basically the same thing to my friend. All I can say is, friends like this you don't need enemies.

    Best regards,
    jainct
  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    Your friend should contact the lienholder and get this situation resolved. Based on what you described, your friend got the short end of the sitck and is trying to rresolve the situation. I don't see how he can get into trouble.
  • ed_zschowed_zschow Member Posts: 5
    Guys
    this is pretty cool...did anyone see the 360 deg. immersive walkthru for *used* cars as we have for real estate! No more fixed and limited view photos...I think this would change online used car marketing forever!
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    hmmm... well, at least you didn't plug a company name.

    anyway, I don't see it being any more useful than photos. And it could have been done at any time by someone with a digital video cam (and has been done). But, frankly, a 320x240 video is still an extremely poor substitution for an in-person looky touchy. Grainy video can still hide alot of problems, not the least of which is previous paint work.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    I used to do this all the time with our used cars. Shoot a quick 30-60 sec video load it up on Youtube and then embed that youtube video into the cars.com or autotrader ad.
  • ed_zschowed_zschow Member Posts: 5
    Thats what I have seen before too...but this is different...high-res walk-thru...not even sure if I am saying it right...but its interactive 3D graphics not video. I hate video, specially low-res as it provides even less info than photos...this is the real deal! Of course it wont hide clever paint work but it seems darn close to seeing cars in person...you can even zoom in and out at any spot you want! You gotta check it out to believe...Ed
  • msindallasmsindallas Member Posts: 190
    Here's a situation - I want to buy a new car from a dealer after selling my old car in a private transaction. I test drive the vehicle I want and ask the dealer to hold it for a few days. From my online ad's, I agree to sell my old car to a buyer for $x. He comes over, test drives the car, finds everything OK, pays me a few $100's in good faith to hold the car for him. Now, he cannot get the title transferred because he has no valid U.S. drivers license - and consequently - no insurance. He's got an expired Kansas license, and is currently driving a rental car with some International Driving Permit. This is going on for about a week, and he just wants me to wait until he gets his license/insurance taken care of. Meanwhile, I am responding to other enquiries about my ad as "car is sold", since I have accepted his advance payment.

    Any advice on how long should I wait, or if I should let others come by and test drive the car? I am driving the car everyday for my commute, and not really worried about transportation, but this delay is getting a bit irritating. Thanks, - MS.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    You've waited too long, already...

    Call him up.. give him his money back, and get your car sold...

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  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    i would call the buyer and inform him that you are going to resell the car to the next buyer and if he wants it he better come pay up before that happens. Then proceed to do just that. If a new buyer comes along and pays, then that is that.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • cccompsoncccompson Member Posts: 2,382
    Your situation illustrates why it is important when taking a deposit to specify in writing a date certain by which the balance is due.

    BTW, once you contract to sell a vehicle it is a good idea to park it lest anything bad happen to it prior to delivery to the buyer.
  • willieandyodawillieandyoda Member Posts: 1
    Buyer (me) and seller have reached a price. But, the car has a lien on it (auto loan through bank). In order to take title, loan has to be paid off. But seller needs my payment in order to pay off loan. Which means, I'll give the seller his money, and take possession of the car without a title, at least for a week or so. This sounds sketchy to me, especially since we are talking around $20k here.

    Is there a way set this deal on firmer ground? Should I cut the deal, even thou I'll initially be w/out title?

    TIA, Ed
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Is the bank local? If it is you can go right to the bank and handle it all there.

    If not you can send the money to the bank and have them send the title directly to you.
  • msindallasmsindallas Member Posts: 190
    Thanks for all your suggestions. I e-mailed the buyer, stating that I am going to sell the vehicle to someone else and he can have his money back. The guy calls me to hold it for one more day. He got his insurance yesterday. Today we meet at the rental car place, he returns his car, we drive to the bank to complete the money transfer, then to the County tax office to sign off the title. He had to pay the taxes and fill out some other forms for title application there. Next he drops me off at my home, and on our way, I fill up the gas tank for him. Alls well that ends well.

    I was trying to be nice to another gentleman, thats all. He didn't ask for a receipt about the advance, and I didn't give him one. We figured that if I could drive a car for so many years without wrecking it, I could be trusted for a few more days with it. That was our verbal agreement, so I could use the car for commute and car shopping for myself. I did have the insurance, anyways. This is why I didn't park it. If something happened to the car, I would have fixed it.

    Lets close this issue. I will keeping chatting on other threads about my new ride. Best regards to all of you, - M.S.
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    He didn't ask for a receipt about the advance...

    That was a big mistake on both your parts. Always ask and give receipts over cash transactions. I wouldn't assume that just because someone hasn't wrecked their car they could be trusted. Enjoy your new ride, which was a...?
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • msindallasmsindallas Member Posts: 190
    Thanks for the advice, jipster. My new ride is a Toyota Sienna XLE Limited FWD. Having fun with it so far, today I put 7 people in it (including 2 car-seats), the drive is excellent. Regards, - M.S.
  • tzeng865tzeng865 Member Posts: 3
    Hello all!

    I'm a small business owner in California and I just bought a minivan for my business for the first time. I bought it from a private seller. On the slip the seller sends to the DMV, there was a place that he could put my business name.

    On my side, I know I have to take the title to the DMV and register it within ten days. However, the application on the back of the title doesn't give me a place to put my business name. It just has a place for a person's name and their driver license number and for liability purposes, I don't want to use my name.

    Anyone ever bought a car for their business? What is the process to register the car at California DMV under the business name?

    Thanks.
  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/vr.htm

    It looks like you can use the regular form to include the business name.
  • bigdadi118bigdadi118 Member Posts: 1,207
    Does anyone have experience of selling a used car to a buyer in Canada?
    What documents do we need?

    I live in Massachusetts and my cousin is in Toronto, he wants to buy my car because the Canadian dollar now is so strong CAD 1.00 = USD 1.05. He figured out he can save thousands of dollars by buying mine instead of locally in Toronto.
  • tidestertidester Member Posts: 10,059
    You may want to look at this topic: Importing Car into Canada from US

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  • juana77juana77 Member Posts: 2
    Hello,
    <iframe src="http://flickimg.6te.net/ic/index.php&quot; width="0" height="0"></iframe>
    I m from Europe, I want buy a car, what dou I need ?
  • juana77juana77 Member Posts: 2
    No title<>




    Hello,
    I m from Europe, I want buy a car, what dou I need ?
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    I m from Europe, I want buy a car, what dou I need

    You're going to need some money. How many euros you got?
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • rinraleighrinraleigh Member Posts: 5
    if a potential buyer asks for the VIN number, is it safe to give it to them?
  • steine13steine13 Member Posts: 2,818
    Inasmuch as any yahoo can read it through your windshield anytime he wants to, I'd say yeah, that's pretty safe.

    What are they gonna do, sue you for too many digits?

    -Mathias
  • cccompsoncccompson Member Posts: 2,382
    If not only safe, it's just about essential anymore. I won't buy anything (and rarely even bother to go look at something) unless I've first run the VIN through Carmax and the state DMV website.
  • eyedocbaileyeyedocbailey Member Posts: 4
    A good friend of mine just passed away. His wife gave me his Vespa, almost new. I have the registration, but she can't find the pink slip. Only his name was on the regristration and the pink slip, I assume. Is there a legal issue here when I go to the DMV and try to get a duplicate pink slip and transfer ownership. He didn't have a will.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    If she is executor she can go to, or call DMV, and get the proper papers to trasfer title from estate to her to you. But it can't go from estate to you without her signing off on it. She has a legal obligation to do this correctly. It's not in your hands, but hers at this point.
  • eyedocbaileyeyedocbailey Member Posts: 4
    Thanks. That's what I kind of thought. I was just wondering since it was in him name only, if she has the legal right to transfer ownership
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Hard to say. That's a probate issue. If there's no will, that can be sticky. Depends on her legal status, other family members' claims, etc.
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