Buying and Selling of an out of state vehicle in California

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enkeiprophet07

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Recently, I traded my truck for a mustang that was registered in Arizona. A few days ago I sold the car before I registered it in my name in the state of California. The person who I sold it to did not even want to test drive the car or go over any receipts or documents that I had regarding the car. Now that the sell was made they are insisting that I either pay for the repairs so that the car will pass smog or that I buy the car back from them. I have reviewed information about this and I came to the conclusion that I do not have the responsibility to do as they ask. Despite of this, they have threatened to take me through the court system and I was wondering what, if any, chances do they have of making me pay for repairs or buy the car back. The buyer did not require the smog certificate at the time of sale and bought the car "as-is". This was not stated in any contract because we did not write one. We just agreed on a price and the car was sold. Can I still be held responsible for this? What fee will I have to pay if the car is registered out of state and it is not registered under my name in any state? I am expecting to have to pay a fee for not registering it in California in the first place. But where does my liability stop and there's begin? They bought the car with out of state plates knowing that it was not under my name. I had the title in hand.

If you can give me advice on what to do I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
 
I'm not an attorney, and maybe that's why this situation confuses me. As someone who worked in auto dealerships for nearly 10 years, it sounds like a variety of issues are at work.

First, how can you sell a car you don't legally own? You have the title, but your name isn't on anything? Sounds like you skipped title - I'm going to say that the party you bought the car from is going to have a hard time proving you were involved in the first place.

Second, quite a few states require that anyone selling a vehicle must ensure that this vehicle passes emissions. I'm not certain that California is one of those states, but I would assume so.

I have no idea how you should proceed, but I think you may want to consider exactly what this other party could really do to you before acting. I've found that people threaten a suit without following through.

Attorneys? Anyone want to clear this one up for us?
 
I sold it because I owned it I just had not put it in my name at the time I sold it. My name was on the back of the title, the owner released it to me.

What does skipping title mean?
 
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