Selling a car to someone that doesnt tag it....

Joc · Dec 7, 2015

Long story short I sold/gave/lost a car to a family member nearly 3 months ago. They still dont have a tag on it. I have the bill of sale so is that all I need to keep my name clear in any BS that might arise in the future linked to the car? I would think it is all I need but I want to make dang sure im clear of anything to do with the car. I dropped the insurance on it when i sold it.

Skrmbld · Dec 7, 2015

You should be fine and able to keep your name clear of problems with the bill of sale as long as it has their signature as well as the sale date. Another thing u could do is take the bill of sale to the DMV to show its sold and u get a credit for the amount of time left on your original tag till it would have expired. They apply the credit the next time u renew your tag.

patooyee · Dec 7, 2015

You are saying that you have the bill of sale where YOU sold it to THEM??? That just proves that they should own it, doesn't it? Or are you saying that they didn't get a copy of it during the original transaction?

In FL even if you don't tag the car you're still supposed to go transfer the title which is what makes the transaction legally binding. You have 90 days to do so before you incur a late transfer penalty fee. I know a guy who sold his car but never received full payment, just partial, after about 1.5 years. But the "buyer" never transferred the title and the guy decided he wanted it back. He called the police, told them where the car was, showed them his name on a current title, and they had a towing company tow it back to him.

halcat · Dec 7, 2015

I got a good one, my daughter traded her car on a ford lot in Detroit mi. Two years later got a call from a tow lot in Ga. That we owed three mo storage on her car. The ford dealership didn't take her tag of and that's how the tow lot got hold of us. we ddnt take the car. You never know.

Joc · Dec 7, 2015

patooyee said:
You are saying that you have the bill of sale where YOU sold it to THEM??? That just proves that they should own it, doesn't it? Or are you saying that they didn't get a copy of it during the original transaction?

In FL even if you don't tag the car you're still supposed to go transfer the title which is what makes the transaction legally binding. You have 90 days to do so before you incur a late transfer penalty fee. I know a guy who sold his car but never received full payment, just partial, after about 1.5 years. But the "buyer" never transferred the title and the guy decided he wanted it back. He called the police, told them where the car was, showed them his name on a current title, and they had a towing company tow it back to him.

I have a signed bill of sale
Other party has one too.

I've always thought this was enough proof but been fearing the worst from the shady family member.

patooyee · Dec 7, 2015

Joc said:
I have a signed bill of sale
Other party has one too.

I've always thought this was enough proof but been fearing the worst from the shady family member.

I don't get it though. You sold the vehicle to them and have a bill of sale saying that? If that proves anything it proves they own it, not you.

patooyee · Dec 7, 2015

Or are you saying that you have the original bill of sale from when you bought it and the transaction with the family member is undocumented? Did you ever transfer the title to your name?

TacomaJD · Dec 7, 2015

If you have a bill of sale with both signatures on it, your hands should be clean. If the title is not sent off and put in their name or the vehicle is not tagged, that's not your problem, but theirs. Long as you have a bill of sale with a date that preceeds anything they decide to do with the vehicle and they signed off on it, I don't believe you have any risk of liability for anything at all.

creepycrawly · Dec 7, 2015

Patooyee, the other person owns the car and he isn't disputing that. His concern is if they hit someone or something bad happens and the car hasn't been legally transferred out of his name, he doesn't want to be liable.

Joc, you are fine buddy. Go get your $15-20 back for the credit on that tag and call it good. I would keep the bill of sale just in case.

muddinmetal · Dec 7, 2015

They bought the car, it is theirs to do what ever they want to with it, ****

Joc · Dec 7, 2015

muddinmetal said:
They bought the car, it is theirs to do what ever they want to with it, ****

Bought.... Hahahahahahaha you should of stuck around longer in hl2

patooyee · Dec 7, 2015

creepycrawly said:
Patooyee, the other person owns the car and he isn't disputing that. His concern is if they hit someone or something bad happens and the car hasn't been legally transferred out of his name, he doesn't want to be liable.

Joc, you are fine buddy. Go get your $15-20 back for the credit on that tag and call it good. I would keep the bill of sale just in case.

Oh, I thought he was trying to repo the car.

muddinmetal · Dec 7, 2015

Joc said:
Bought.... Hahahahahahaha you should of stuck around longer in hl2

Or what ever the hell happens when you do business or attempt to do help a family member... **** always goes south

I enjoyed my time with hl2, but I had just started talking to a new woman when it started and it all was about to melt down my phone :****:

Bama · Dec 8, 2015

I sold one and the guy didnt get a tag. He went down to birmingham and hit a car. Jumped out and ran. They came back to me because it was in my name. It took forever to get straightened out. I told them who he was, where he worked, and where he lived.i did the same as you, i gave him a bill of sale and i had a bill of sale. After i got it straightened out a month later the impound lot sent me a letter saying i could buy the car back at auction ... All this **** for a junker i sold for a hundred bucks..just hold on to that bill of sale forever...

truckbroke · Dec 9, 2015

Get that bitch out your name!! :****:

I bought a Tahoe and other **** from a guy in Nashville about 5 years ago and he was going through this same thing. Sold a van and they never titled it in there name. They crashed it and messed some people up bad. The people that he sold the van to didn`t have nothing so the victoms attorneys came after him being he was on the title. He had the original bill of sale as well but, they took him to court anyways and he LOST. They were garnishing his wages and he was having to sell everything to pay for attorneys to try and go back and fight the case. I literally walked through his house and he said everything was for sale. Sad really. So yes you need to go to the tag office and see how to go about getting it out of your name.

creepycrawly · Dec 9, 2015

truckbroke said:
Get that bitch out your name!! :****:

I bought a Tahoe and other **** from a guy in Nashville about 5 years ago and he was going through this same thing. Sold a van and they never titled it in there name. They crashed it and messed some people up bad. The people that he sold the van to didn`t have nothing so the victoms attorneys came after him being he was on the title. He had the original bill of sale as well but, they took him to court anyways and he LOST. They were garnishing his wages and he was having to sell everything to pay for attorneys to try and go back and fight the case. I literally walked through his house and he said everything was for sale. Sad really. So yes you need to go to the tag office and see how to go about getting it out of your name.

Man I hate to be a naysayer, and I am not questioning your integrity or anything so don't take it that way. But, there has to be more to this story than that. There is no way to ensure that someone appropriately tags and titles a vehicle in their name after you sell it to them. I do not dispute that you would be named in a lawsuit if it hadn't been transferred out of your name, but the chances of you being held liable for any damages with a bill of sale in hand are slim to none. Would you have to come out of pocket for an attorney? Yep. But if you don't own the vehicle, it ain't your fault. Unless they went out on a limb and tried to say you should have known better than to sell it to this person because you were aware they were a habitual drunk driver or something. That's still a stretch. What's the guy's name? Lawsuits are public record. I'd like to see the details of what went down there.

Joc, worst case, tell her you want another bill of sale and get it notarized this time. And then go get your money back for the tag. Just 2 more levels of insulation.

LightBnDr · Dec 9, 2015

X3 !!!!

Go to the DMV and ask a super unhappy disgruntled city employee about how you can guarantee your legal safety.

A buddy of mine sold a blazer to a guy in a neighboring city back in 1999. 2 weeks later the guy and his buddies robbed a bank and abandoned the blazer in the woods. Cops came to my buddies house in swat gear and made things real uncomfortable for a bit.

It's worth a trip to the DMV

At work

truckbroke · Dec 9, 2015

I have no idea what the guys name was. This was in like 08. I can only say what he told me and my buddy that was picking up the Tahoe. He seemed pretty legit and wasn`t happy about having to sell his stuff. He said the key was he had a very good job and the bums he sold the van to didn`t have nothing to sue for.

truckbroke · Dec 9, 2015

Hell you could probably just call one of those ambulance chasing lawyers and ask him if you can be liable. If he says its even a possibility I`d get it handled. In the age we are in now people can break in your house get hurt and turn around and sue YOU.

John Galbreath Jr. · Dec 9, 2015

In Alabama, you are not supposed to sell a vehicle with a tag on it. You should take the tag to the courthouse for a refund on unused taxes. If in Alabama, and you left the tag on the vehicle, I can see there there is the possibility for liability.

What I would do, is go "steal" YOUR tag off the vehicle.