Legal Question in Consumer Law in Virginia

Outright Sale of Auto

I bought a new car & someone was interested in buying my old car outright. An agreement was made to get me a chashier's check on a Mon., & the next day I would go pay off my auto loan & obtain the title. The bank only had an electronic title & I had to pick it up from the DMV. I don't have leave at work to go, & I get home too late in the evenings to make it to the DMV. Tues., It was agreed with the buyer's husband to meet on that Fri.(my day off) at the DMV so that I could sign over the title there, & he could go right in for tags & registration. The buyer was still unhappy & wanted the title sooner than Fri. After many phone calls between us, Wed., the buyer agreed to purchasing the car & to til Fri. for the title. I was able to work out with my car pool to get to the DMV in time after work on that Wed. Wed. night, I went to her with the title & a self-created bill of sale. She knew I was writing the odometer reading on the title & signing it. As I handed ther the title she indicated she didn't want the car anymore. The money was deposited on Mon., it is now Wed. Who's car is it & is it too late to for her to say she doesn't want it anymore? Can I mail it certified & be done with it? Or, do I owe her money back?


Asked on 7/15/04, 7:09 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Outright Sale of Auto

From a legal perspective, one might say that the transaction was completed on Monday when the buyer(or her repreresentative) tendered you the cashier's check for the agreed upon price of the vehicle which you then accepted and deposited and in return(presumably)you either gave possession of the car to the buyer(or made it available for her to take possession of). The transfer of the title was a mere incident of the sale of the vehicle.

Mail the title along with a copy of the bill of sale to this disaffected buyer who is now the unhappy new owner of your "old car". Her buyer's remorse in this case should be too late to affect the integrity(and legality) of ths transaction.

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Answered on 7/15/04, 9:57 am


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