Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Washington

Return of Used Car Sold

I sold a car, with a bill of sale, on a Saturday. The buyer gave me a check and asked if I would wait until Tuesday to cash it due to him having to transfer money. At the point of him buying the car, I had another gentleman waiting to test drive it who was very interested in buying it. The first gentleman decided he wanted it before I could sell it to another. On Tuesday, when I returned home from my nieces funeral, I found the car parked in front of my apartment. Upon calling the buyer, I was told that they had taken the car to the mechanic on Monday and he said it would be better not to buy the car and that by Washington State law they have 3 business days to return the car. I feel that his ploy to have me wait to cash the check until he could transfer the money was just a stall tactic to be able to have his mechanic look at the car. In this case, he should have placed a deposit so that I would not sell it to another, instead of signing a bill of sale and had it fully checked out. Since he signed a bill of sale and I cashed the check already (before learning he did not want the car) am I liable to return the money and take back the car?


Asked on 10/20/04, 7:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Return of Used Car Sold

Well. I can tell you aren't too happy and I don't blame you. I hear people allude all the time to some mythical 3-day right of recission on car sales contracts in Washington - and there is no such thing. (Applies to in-home sales, such as Avon, not cars). I'm not sure why you were so reluctant to allow him time to have his mechanic check it out. I would also *never* recommend holding a check. Did you deposit his check? Did it clear? Have you transferred the title? If you have, then he is the owner of the car. The short answer is no you are not liable to return the $ and take back the car (IF you transferred title, and cashed the check). Frankly, you could post a notice that the car is going to be towed on the car and send it off to a tow yard - if you transferred title it'll be his problem to go redeem it.

But it would probably be simpler to simply take the car back, especially if you have another buyer. You'd have a tough time in small claims with this one. Nonetheless, the quick answer is that no, Washington does not provide a 3-day right of recission to car buyers. Hope this helps. Powell

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Answered on 10/22/04, 1:33 pm


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