Selling a vehicle? Use Caution!!

This is an off topic post just to tell people to be careful selling vehicles off these days.

A couple months ago I sold my cargo van to some shady looking folks, but they had the cash and a drivers license so I really didnt care… next day I got a call and harassment when I wouldnt help them get it out of the impound.. I told them to transfer the title and get it themselves(they apperantly got a DUI)… I almost laughed it off, and nearly forgot about it until today…

Today I got a call from a family member wondering if the SHERRIF’S DEPARTMENT has got ahold of me yet?!??! Apperantly a pickup I sold to a normal looking individual 5 days ago got pulled over and it turned into a huge narcotics bust! The driver went on to say that he just purchased the vehicle today.. yadda-yadda… and of course the truck was in my name.

Eventually I contacted who I had to contact, and came up with the information to whom I sold it to… luckily, I regestered the sale online, and not by mailing in the sellers notice of sale. I made a seperate bill of sale including the date, time of sale, and specifying that I was no longer accountable for anything that happened with the truck from that time. I normaly wouldnt do this, but after the last instance selling a vehicle, I figured it couldnt hurt… well, that extra bill of sale will leave me 100% out of any further legal issues due to the truck!

There is a 10 day grace period where one is allowed to not transfer a title on a vehicle.. I highly suggest to anyone selling off a vehicle.. to make an extra bill of sale for their own protection just in case an incident would happen… obviously nobody want to recieve the phone call I did, or have sheriff’s show up at the door over something you have nothing to do with.

Glad you’re in the clear David. Thanks for the heads up.

I’ve had that happen too. I got the phone call…’this is so and so from the police department….’.

Then my head starts spinning with all kinds of thoughts of why the police are calling me only to find out I sold my car to some looser that won’t change the title over.

Thanks for the advice, Dave.

Jon

Good Advice! About 12 years ago I sold a conversion van to a couple in IGH. Well……..I also got a call from the police. Seems more than a week after I sold it, It was involved in a hit and run.(It was the run part it was in.) There’s some good news. I told them that I had sold the Van and he gave me some good advise and that was that!

Dave, good post. I have also gone though this in the past. I think the online transfer was created just for this. Unless you follow the guy to the motor vehicle department you will never know if it is transfered. If you go online and file right away you take any chance out of the deal. Good thing you did this.

All good tips here guys, unless I know the person I always insist on both of us going down to the License bureau to transfer the title over, if they are not willing to do that there is no sale.

On a separate but related note.

It’s a good idea to give a vehicle that you just purchased a good cleaning. I was cleaning my old truck a few years after I bought it and found a big ol bag of dope in a pretty obscure place (i didn’t put it there). So that means I was driving around for a few years with a bag of pot in my truck w/o knowing about it. Try explaining that to John Q Officer.

On MN titles, when you sale, you keep a stub with the buyer’s info and signature.

That is sufficent proof that your vehicle is sold and you are no longer liable due to “title ownership responsibilities”.

That is the reason for that stub.

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On MN titles, when you sale, you keep a stub with the buyer’s info and signature.

That is sufficent proof that your vehicle is sold and you are no longer liable due to “title ownership responsibilities”.

That is the reason for that stub.

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Gary…

That *stub* is the “Sellers notice of Sale”

You are required to mail that in, or notify the DMV that the vehicle has been sold, the web address is on that “stub”.

The best thing to do is register/notify online, and keep the stub in your records… at a minimum.

This is a plus 1 for me!

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All good tips here guys, unless I know the person I always insist on both of us going down to the License bureau to transfer the title over, if they are not willing to do that there is no sale.

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Back in the early 80’s I traded a Jeep into a big named dealership in Roseville, 6 months later I got a letter from the Hudson WI. police dept. It was a warrant for my arrest in a hit and run homicide!!!!!! I called the Hudson police dept. and asked what this was all about, they responded with, I had hit someone at 1:30 AM with my Jeep in downtown Hudson and left the scene, the person had died from injuries!!! I asked when this happened, they gave me the date and I then told them I had traded the Jeep in 6 months earlier. They took my phone number and said we’ll call you back. Appearently they contacted the dealership, found my story checked out, then called me back and appologized. Seems the dealership didn’t transfer the title since the Jeep was sold to someone out of state!!

Here is what I do. Pull the license plates off the vehicle or insist on doing the transfer at the time of sale. Never let someone you don’t know drive off with YOUR plates.

Many of these guys looking to buy cheap cars are people who don’t have a license or insurance. They are buying your car only to drive it until the plate expire, then dump it and get another car. If they are ligit, they will have no problem doing the transfer or buying the car without plates.

-J.

This kind of car buying has been going on for a long time. The typical scenario is that a guy shows up in the evening/weekend when the license bureaus are closed. He wants to buy the car with cash but cannot for various reasons come back at a later time to make the transfer official.

Just ask for 10% down and you will hold the car for a week in order to give him time to make a trip with you to the license bureau. If he says he can’t do that, then you know he was someone you do not want to deal with.