Legal problem:sold cycle but didn''t transfer title, now towing fees

[HappyAnniversary]

Ok, Son sold motorcycle over almost 2 years ago, cash deal, didn''t even save the guys name. Son signed over the title to the buyer who said he would take care of transferring the title from son to him. (But didn''t) Now almost 2 years later son gets certified letter from towing company in another city saying he owes $2000 for storage and towing fees on that motorcycle. The rider (we don''t know but assume it was the buyer) had an accident and was taken to the hospital, motorcycle was damaged and will need repairs but is fixable. The cycle has been abandoned now for 3 months (accruing $20 per day storage fees). Towing company says son is responsible for the fees, BUT they will drop all fees if he goes to dept of mv and says he has lost the title, gets a dup and signs it over to the towing company. They said if they have the title they can get more money, other wise they can only get a little money and son is responsible for the rest. I don''t now if towing company has the buyer''s name or not, or if it makes any diff.

Question: What should he do? Is that legal? cos according to our state, he is the owner.

Thanks all!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/16/2008 7:54:59 PM
Author:HappyAnniversary
cos according to our state, he is the owner.

Thanks all!

IMO that answers your question...

 

[spike13]

I would call the department of motor vehicles and ask them what to do. I''ve had to deal with similar things in California and the dmv was actually quite helpful.

I would not just sign it over to the towing company without knowing what the DMV says.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

thanks all, I will call DMV today. I am worried that the buyer could produce the title my son signed over after the fact and say son stole my bike. I''m pretty sure towing company has only their own interests in mind. So, lesson learned, don''t trust people to change title at DMV--go with buyer and have it done for sure.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

Ok, called DMV and it is ok to get dup and transfer to towing company, the other guy has no claim on the motorcylce cos it is not in his name.
Thanks!

 

[movie zombie]

Happy, if the bike is in your son''s name shouldn''t he be dealing with this?

movie zombie

 

[swingirl]

If the towing company wants to to turn over the title the bike might be worth more than you realize. You should check to see what the value of the bike is damaged and with value if it''s repaired. It''s possible it''s worth more that $2000 for parts and even more repaired. Paying the $2000, getting the bike fixed and reselling it might come out financially ahead.

 

[luckystar112]

Towing companies are so shady.

Years ago my car got stolen (long story), and I reported it to the police.
TWO. YEARS. LATER. My mother gets a phone call from a towing company saying that my car has been there for over a year, and to PAY UP.

My mom argued with them, and as far as I know nothing ever came from it. We never ended up paying them though...no idea what happened to the car.

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 6/17/2008 3:58:19 PM
Author: movie zombie
Happy, if the bike is in your son''s name shouldn''t he be dealing with this?

movie zombie

Since when is it a crime to get advice for your son? I''m 25, and if this happened to me I''d probably be asking my mom what to do too. I woudn''t make her handle it for me, but I''d ask for her advice.

 

[spike13]

Typically on titles there''s a portion or a form available from DMV called Release of Liability. When you sell the vehicle you fill out that part or form and mail it into the DMV. This lets them know you have sold it and to whom. It is then up to the buyer to register it. Once you release your liability, then you are no longer responsibile for the vehicle.

In this case, if you do sign it over to the towing company, make sure you (or your son) sends in that form.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 6/17/2008 4:57:14 PM
Author: luckystar112

Date: 6/17/2008 3:58:19 PM
Author: movie zombie
Happy, if the bike is in your son''s name shouldn''t he be dealing with this?

movie zombie

Since when is it a crime to get advice for your son? I''m 25, and if this happened to me I''d probably be asking my mom what to do too. I woudn''t make her handle it for me, but I''d ask for her advice.

Thanks LS. As the mother of two early 20 something kids, they need advice on a lot of new things they encounter such as mortgages, taxes, etc. In fact, my daughter could have been the victim of a scam when she was searching for a roommate but I was suspicious and warned her. She told me afterwards, "What do people do who don''t have parents to help them?" I think the answer is, they learn a lot of things the hard and expensive way. If my experience can help educate my older children, I am certainly available to help them.

Being a parent never ends.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

My gosh--I am in my 50''s and still call MY parents for advice--that''s what family and friends (including internet friends) are for! Son will do all the legwork, but I wanted to make sure he wouldn''t be doing something illegal--I was afraid the buyer could come back and say--you stole my bike, now reimburse me. I still need to find out if there might be parking tickets/speeding tickets etc. that might be his responsibility if he takes "ownership" of the bike.


Neat freak--looks like your instints were right!

Swinggirl--He doesn''t care if the bike might be worth more than the fees, he got the money he expected out of the bike, and the bike is 4 hours away.

diamondseeker and luckystar--thanks for the support.

movie zombie--its hard to tell people''s intent by a post--I didn''t plan on doing it for him, although I have more time off and his job is really busy, so if he asked I might help out. He''s an independent kid, so there is no worry of me mooching into his life, I get a door (kindly) closed on me when I step too far. I just wanted to keep a kid from possibly making a big mistake.

spike13 thanks for the nuts and bolts info, I''ll tell son.

Love yall!!!

 

[FireGoddess]

I've never understood why the DMV rules are that only the buyer must file the new title. Obviously this would make sense in a legitimate transaction, but there are always transactions such as these where the seller gets screwed because it's not filed. As a seller I would always photocopy the title after all signatures are on it and before relinquishing it to the buyer. That's your protection. Not even getting the guy's name was a bad idea. I hope you get this sorted out...I've never been in a similar situation so I can't offer any good advice. Just empathy.

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 6/18/2008 10:10:21 AM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 6/17/2008 4:57:14 PM
Author: luckystar112

Date: 6/17/2008 3:58:19 PM
Author: movie zombie
Happy, if the bike is in your son''s name shouldn''t he be dealing with this?

movie zombie

Since when is it a crime to get advice for your son? I''m 25, and if this happened to me I''d probably be asking my mom what to do too. I woudn''t make her handle it for me, but I''d ask for her advice.

Thanks LS. As the mother of two early 20 something kids, they need advice on a lot of new things they encounter such as mortgages, taxes, etc. In fact, my daughter could have been the victim of a scam when she was searching for a roommate but I was suspicious and warned her. She told me afterwards, ''What do people do who don''t have parents to help them?'' I think the answer is, they learn a lot of things the hard and expensive way. If my experience can help educate my older children, I am certainly available to help them.

Being a parent never ends.

no it doesn''t. but i''m old school which says give a man a fish and he''ll eat now, teach him to fish and he''ll eat forever: meaning if asked by my daughter its ok to give advice and suggest who to call and the questions to ask, but another to actually make the calls for her. if she''s to learn how to not get scammed and how to navigate, i''m there for her to ask the questions but she does the leg work and calling. i too would ask friends advice and let her know what they said but i wouldn''t make the calls for her to agencies or to the storage company. in our family its one thing to educate and share experience but another to do the actual handling of the problem. however, we each have our own parenting styles and relationships with our children. there is no one size fits all.........

movie zombie

 

[Miscka]

Date: 6/18/2008 10:39:22 PM
Author: movie zombie

no it doesn''t. but i''m old school which says give a man a fish and he''ll eat now, teach him to fish and he''ll eat forever: meaning if asked by my daughter its ok to give advice and suggest who to call and the questions to ask, but another to actually make the calls for her. if she''s to learn how to not get scammed and how to navigate, i''m there for her to ask the questions but she does the leg work and calling. i too would ask friends advice and let her know what they said but i wouldn''t make the calls for her to agencies or to the storage company. in our family its one thing to educate and share experience but another to do the actual handling of the problem. however, we each have our own parenting styles and relationships with our children. there is no one size fits all.........


movie zombie

Mom...is that you???

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 6/19/2008 10:12:06 AM
Author: Miscka

Date: 6/18/2008 10:39:22 PM
Author: movie zombie

no it doesn''t. but i''m old school which says give a man a fish and he''ll eat now, teach him to fish and he''ll eat forever: meaning if asked by my daughter its ok to give advice and suggest who to call and the questions to ask, but another to actually make the calls for her. if she''s to learn how to not get scammed and how to navigate, i''m there for her to ask the questions but she does the leg work and calling. i too would ask friends advice and let her know what they said but i wouldn''t make the calls for her to agencies or to the storage company. in our family its one thing to educate and share experience but another to do the actual handling of the problem. however, we each have our own parenting styles and relationships with our children. there is no one size fits all.........


movie zombie

Mom...is that you???

LOL!!!!!!!! now that for some reason struck my funny bone! maybe your mom and i are related?!

movie zombie