Please - I NEED HELP ASAP! Re: selling a vehicle

[Qanisqineq]

Here is the background:
I sold a vehicle to my neighbor yesterday. The year of the vehicle is 1992 so it isn't new. When I first discussed it with him back in April, I was asking $3,000 (expecting people to start talking me down, of course, but not too much since it is a truck with 4WD,etc.). He was ok with that and offered to give me $1,000 upfront & the rest in payments. (I know, I shouldn't take payments but I was willing since it would be an allotment out of his pay).

May comes and he says he can't get $1,000 but could get $500. I say ok and that I am only going to ask $2,800. I wanted to stop paying insurance on a vehicle not moving because hubby is overseas now. Before my husband left, he told him he thought everything was ok with it. We didn't guarantee anything but told him what had been fixed recently.

So yesterday comes around and he can only come up with $400 upfront and I reluctantly agree because he is moving tomorrow. (Mind you, I held it for more than two months with no money down) We set up the allotment, I got the $400, we signed a small contract that he would pay the total of $2,800 within a years time. Then I signed over the title and gave him the keys.

Today they go to for emissions inspection and find out it will be $350 to fix! Augh, I had no idea! It was registered in a state without inspections and hubby is military and didn't need to change it when we moved. NOW HE WANTS MONEY OFF THE PRICE because he can't afford to fix it. I feel really, really bad. But at the same time, I suggested he take it to a mechanic during one of the number of times he test drove it and he didn't. His wife had it for 6 hours one day and I asked him where it was, he said she probably took it to a mechanic. Apparently not.

What the heck do I do?? He would want it out of the money he gave me upfront! If I do that, then that is lowering the amount of money upfront and I am not in the least comfortable with that since he is leaving the state tomorrow.

[Love Bug]

1. Question about your written agreement

Did you state in your written agreement that the truck was sold "as is"?

Frankly, once this guy moves I'll bet you never see the rest of the money he owes, so maybe the best thing to do is give him his money back and sell the truck to someone who can give you all the money up front. Then you can sell it for $2,500 stating that the truck needs some work.

[Qanisqineq]

4. no, it doesn't

We went to the JAG office here on post and they weren't much help but had the agreement notarized. I thought about "as is" beforehand but was so tired at the time that I forgot.

I know, I know. Stupid to take payments. But I wouldn't have to worry about any checks bouncing... it would come straight from the military to my checking account. That's the only reason I agreed. He could stop the allotments but (or so I was told) I could take the agreement and show that he had not paid the full amount.

[Love Bug]

2. Question about your written agreement

Did you state in your written agreement that the truck was sold "as is"?

Frankly, once this guy moves I'll bet you never see the rest of the money he owes, so maybe the best thing to do is give him his money back and sell the truck to someone who can give you all the money up front. Then you can sell it for $2,500 stating that the truck needs some work.

Just my $.02 worth.

[LeftyMom]

3. Offer to take it back

in exchange for the cash he gave you. Sell it to somebody who can give you the full amount up front, even if you have to take a bit less. Hope he takes you up on your kind offer because unless you specified yourself as the leinholder when you signed over the lease you may have a hell of a time collecting payments.

[punpirate]

5. Is there anything in the "small contract" he signed...

... which specifies that the vehicle was being sold "AS IS?"

Is there anything in that contract which can be construed as it being sold with a warranty, explicit or implicit?

If not, I'd say that you encouraged him to take it to a mechanic and have it checked over, and that he must not have; otherwise, such a condition would likely have been detected.

You have no assurance beyond his say-so that the truck requires repairs. He's attempting to bring the cash down to almost nothing, and that alone would make me very suspicious about you ever receiving the remainder.

It may not sound nice, but I would first make a discreet call to his employer to see if he has indeed arranged for a payroll deduction payable to you. (There's also, implicit in this, a reasonable question about the duration of his employment if he's just moved.)

If he has a shop estimate for repairs (he should be able to produce a written estimate), and everything else regarding future payment is on the up and up, I would do this. Split the difference with him--and maintain the original sale price. Explain to him that the problem was not apparent to you, and that you sold the vehicle to him in good faith. You weren't required to maintain emissions to use the truck, so it was not something of which you would have been aware. The repairs are necessary for him to register and run the truck, so they should be his responsibility.

Drop the down payment by $150 and raise the original sale price back to $3000. That way, he gets something, and you get the assurance that you'll get your money back. If he agrees to that (and you have the assurance from his employer that he's made the arrangements and his employment is stable enough to manage the repayment schedule). If he agrees, write a new contract on those terms--and have it notarized. If he doesn't agree, refund his money, get the truck back and find another buyer who's going to be less trouble.

Cheers.

[Qanisqineq]

6. Thanks!

Wow, that was a very detailed answer! Good!

Ok, first he is military also so he won't be losing his job (sorry, I should have specified he is moving because he is military).

The contract doesn't say "AS IS". I know, shame on me. I totally forgot at the time because we were being hurried along by the JAG people. It simply says his name, my name, the amount agreed upon and within a certain time period, and the year, make, model, and VIN of the vehicle. No mention of warranty. No mention of as is.

I didn't feel good about this whole payments thing in the first place but I will be moving overseas also and I am trying to get so many things done and this vehicle off my mind... I was just desperate and am paying the price already. I just do not understand why he didn't take it to a mechanic before buying it?

Thanks for the input.

[punpirate]

7. If he's got problems making a down payment...

... he obviously didn't want to spend the money on a mechanic to check it out. At a couple of hours at $50-60/hr., it was probably more money than he wanted to spend.

Yes, it makes a difference if he's military--at least you know you have some recourse through the JAG office if he were to renege later.

Where are you headed to?

Cheers.

[Qanisqineq]

8. I think I will offer him one of your suggestions

I had to be offline for a little bit to wait for a phone call. Thanks so much for the advice.

Headed to South Korea. Hubby is already there and it is waaaay down in the southern part, no chance of deployment to Iraq and supposedly it is really nice there. Don't know what I will do for a job but there must be something!

:hi:

[punpirate]

9. Hope you like kimchi...

... you're going to find it everywhere. :)

But, then, I like it. :)

Cheers, and enjoy Korea. Hope you get this sorted out to everyone's satisfaction.

[Qanisqineq]

16. I looked up kimchi on google

Sounds like it is spicy salted/pickled vegetables? Found that here: http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/kimchi/kimchi.cfm

Sounds good! I am kind of a scaredy-cat when it comes to eating meats I am unsure of so I may be eating kimchi any time we eat out.

I talked to the buyer this morning and posted an update below. :P

[uncle ray]

10. get it back, and tell him to get bent.

you'll be better off dumping it for half your asking price than dealing with this moran. seriously, you're going to get taken for a ride if he leaves with the vehicle. don't feel bad.

[Qanisqineq]

11. I like your idea

and it is probably what I should do. It made me smile and I needed it, I am stressing out over this way too much. I think I'll try negotiating it a little first.

[uncle ray]

12. this really stinks

i don't know the circumstances, but what state is he moving to and why is it necessary for him to have emissions test done where you are now if he is leaving? it shouldn't have been an issue until he settles in his new state, furthermore, if i understand right, both your husband and the buyer are military, so they BOTH should be exempt from emissions requirements.

i'd give him a B.S. story, something like your mechanic can get a look at it in the morning, you'll do the nice thing and have it looked at for him, all he has to do is leave it with you for a few hours, and tell you what the exact problem is with the emissions. tell him you'll split the cost, whatever. then judge his reaction, if he refuses to tell what the problem is, call him on it and demand the vehicle back. if you happen to be local to me, i have no plans tomorrow and can be your "mechanic":evilgrin:

even if his sob story is legit, it sounds like you'd be doing him a favor by not letting him keep it. you might be running the risk of keeping a "dirty" vehicle, but like i said, you'd be better to dump it on a cash buyer that knows its condition for half your asking price than deal cross country with this guy.

[Onlooker]

13. You're written agreement might not be worth much

Whether notarized or not, it's unlikely you're gong to go through the trouble of suing if he doesn't pay, and even if you win a judgment, it's still hard to collect. Give the guy his money back, and take the truck to a dealer and get what you can. Letting someone pay it off is just asking for headaches.

[Qanisqineq]

14. Update

Today I asked him if I could see the estimate before I would even consider some kind of deal on lowering the price. He and his wife are telling me that it needs an alignment, new cap, rotor, and wires (husband replaced wires in last few months and the others are things he checked). She lists a few other things, none of which seem to have anything to do with emissions -- we fixed or checked a lot of things on it before we started advertising it.

So, she brings over a piece of paper that someone wrote "Need cap & rotor and wires Fail on emission's HC Cost is about $350 for major tune up." I mean, there was other crap jotted on the back where someone was adding up prices (obviously not for this vehicle either). There was a stamp for the auto shop at the bottom. However, this was not a professional form filled out with itemized things wrong and estimates for parts and labor. The piece of paper was from a small notepad with some dealership advertising on it, but the auto shop was not a dealership. Obviously a free pad of paper. There was no name of owner on it, no make, model, or year of vehicle. No mechanic's name. Nothing. Just what I wrote above.

Also, he told me that they "always" take their vehicles to this place yet have a vehicle they can't get rid of because it won't make it a couple blocks. Great mechanics obviously. Good friend of yours that will fake an estimate possibly? Or does this belong to some other vehicle? Too suspect.

They didn't want to give it back and have their deposit returned, so I told them that there was no way I would even consider lowering the price. Of course they still want it, I'm sure no one else will let them make payments.

If he decides to stop the allotment, at least he is military also and we will make sure we always know where the friendly neighborhood JAG office is! :D

[Maddy McCall]

15. They were aware that they were buying a USED car?

Sounds like they wanted a NEW car for a USED price.

I'd ask him to either abide by the contract or return the car, you return the money, and both tear up their copies of the contract, and write a new contract releasing both parties from the previous contract.

[gardenista]

19. Why not offer to get it through emissions yourself?

The only thing you should be responsible for is the emissions. I bet you can find a shop that will do the emissions insp. and whatever adjustments are necessary to get it to pass. Give them a copy of the test, and tell them you'll be looking forward to getting their first payment. This is a used car. No need for you to do anything else.

It's suspicious that they don't have an official test result. I think they're trying to play you. Sorry.

[Xithras]

17. What are the laws in your state?

I know that here in California the law is quite explicit: The seller is responsible for the costs of emissions related repairs. You can't even sell a car as-is or sign a contract to waive that requirement...the state will NOT transfer title without an emissions inspection, so the seller is legally responsible for all repair costs.

If your state has something similar, you may be stuck.

And as an aside, I doubt you'll ever see the rest of the money for the car. If the guy couldn't even muster $500 with a months notice, the odds that he'll come up with the other $2300 are about nil. My recommendation would be to give him his money back, have the car fixed yourself, and then put it in the paper.

[Qanisqineq]

18. Found out today

that military are exempt from emissions testing anyway. Someone posted that above but I looked it up today and it is true. But after the update (see my post #14), I don't know that anything is wrong with it!

Edit to add post #