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help .. new to buying .. selling ..

ingear

ingear

Member
please give me a reality check ..
in short i never bough / sold a car before ..
a friend of mutual friends from Taiwan is leaving the country and is asking me to try and sell his 1998 Honda Odessy .. for $2000.. he purchased it a month ago .. and did not transfer the title or registration ..
in return - in a mutual agreement - I can drive it around for moment being .. good for me .. as i am visiting LA from NYC and without a car ..
but what should i check for?
* title - it is still in previous owners name and he has not transfered it over to him self ... is this a concern when reselling?
* registration - he is in an agreement with the previous owner to let him use it for moment being (it expires in few months)
* papers of sale - do i need them as proof for new owner? not sure if they paid any taxes or how did this work .. I assume not .. so what should i expect when selling it to a new owner ..
* insurance - I assume i will be able to call up Geico and have it insured to drive around mm
* what else? i imagine there are a dozen other things to consider ..
like i should get AAA .. as it is prone to a possible break down ..
please advise ..
thank you ..
==================
PS in details:
this new friend of a friend i met at Burning Man .. is from Taiwan ..
he bought a 1998 Honda Odessy .. for $2000 .. works OK he went from Reno to LA ..
he planned to sell it .. but he ran out of time ..
he want to park it some place around LA toll free as he will be back for short period from South America to go back to Taiwan ..
or in a mutual exchange he can let me use it while i try to sell it for him and MoneyGram him the money ..
this i great as I am from NYC out in West coast and need a car ..
OK now I just want to make sure i have all aspects covered
as i see it .. it is a no real risk situation for me .. i will honestly try my best to sell it and give him all the money .. but if for what ever reason i can not .. i park it some place for him?
 
Does he have the actual title? Is the title notarized?

and did not transfer the title or registration
Click to expand...

That's a BIG red flag to me.

Have you talked to the previous owner? Do you KNOW PO gave permission? Because if ANYTHING happens with the vehicle, PO is still responsible as far the law is concerned. Who is paying the insurance NOW? As far as you know, the car can be stolen...

it is a no real risk situation for me
Click to expand...
If you get pulled over in it, will the policeman believe your story and not take you to jail?
 
Last edited:
HarryLui said:
Does he have the actual title? Is the title notarized?



That's a BIG red flag to me.

Have you talked to the previous owner? Do you KNOW PO gave permission? Because if ANYTHING happens with the vehicle, PO is still responsible as far the law is concerned. Who is paying the insurance NOW? As far as you know, the car can be stolen...


If you get pulled over in it, will the policeman believe your story and not take you to jail?
Click to expand...

Bingo, red flag is right. If you are in California, park that car and walk away from it, you don't want to get involved in a sale where the title wasn't transferred from the previous sale. Many other states are just as strict regarding title transfer so check your state laws before doing anything.

Personally, I would park that mother and check the law out before doing anything.
 
You should talk to the person with the title to make sure this is legit asap, esp since presumably with this sort of deal they'll be the ones "selling" it to the new owner.
 
My brother got burned this way. Some guy he "trusted" was all like, "oh hey man, we don't need to give the government money. I'll just take over payment on the car! Nice and easy!"

Then he skipped town and "sold" it to somebody else the same way, who left it on the shoulder when it broke down.

6 months later, the bank wants to know why the payments aren't being made, and the cops want to know when my brother is going to come pick up his car from the impound and pay the thousands of dollars in towing, impound fees, tickets, etc.
 
hi everyone ..

I did not commit to help yet .. he is still driving it in LA .. i am looking into the legal aspect .. thank you so much for all the info and advice ..

I included much unnecessary info .. like friend of a friend .. Taiwan .. burning man .. MoneyGram ..

its simple ..

as Corehhi put it:

> I can see it happening as: Thanks for the money here's the title signed over and use the plate until it expires.

i trust this guy from Taiwan .. he is in this spot as his sale to other friends from China fell through ... they had some love triangle fight ..

he doesn't want any money from me .. just if i can help him sell it .. but i get to drive around ..

BUT as i see now

problem

#1 original owner can wake up .. have a change of hear and cancel registration at any time .. (report to DMV he sold the car and forgot to take the plates of ...... or worse ...... who the heck knows .. report it stolen) if cops pull me over I think it would be ~$200

#2 looks like my friend from Taiwan got the signed title AND SIGNED on it!
without going on to DMV to register it all to get a new title ... properly ... ahhhhhh .. so i can not sell it easily ..

#3 this friend from Taiwan has no insurance card .. he is clueless!! i must call Geico and ask if I can insure it in such a case ..

IF I can insure it ... I can just drive it around and then park it someplace in LA

if cops pull me over i have
1. registration paper
2. insurance
3. DL

hmmmm what if cops ask me who owns the car and how i got it .... hmmmmm i could show them the title and say I am driving it for a friend who purchased it ..... hmmmm i better get a signed statment from him .. w same signature as on the title ..

BUT selling it is an issue if he signed the title ... and and who knows what kind of other trouble the car can be in ... would not want to be involved ..

problem #4 do you see any possible issues / problems?

thank you ..
 
If he already signed the title, walk away or get him to properly title it. Most states have penalties (some spendy) for not transferring title within a short period of time after a sale. As far as a note goes, that isn't going to mean squat to a cop if you are pulled over. You are still driving a car without the permission of the registered/titled owner, no note will cover that.

Don't do it.
 
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