Consumer Law, Warranties I wrote a promissary note for a car. am I legally bound to buy?

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honolulu12

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I wrote a promissary note to purchase a vehicle 2 weeks ago, and I was ready to purchase it immediately. however the private seller didnt have the title and needed to order a new one, so obviously no money was exchanged, and no car was accepted. since then I have reconsidered, and the seller is on a time constraint to sell..am I legally bound to purchase it? am I legally bound to pay any differences in price if the owner sells it to someone else for less then what we agreed on? I really dont want to buy this car. and I don't believe the hand written note I drew up was specific on much of anything other than a price.
 
There is nothing more heartwarming than someone who is willing to renege on a promise to buy. You agreed upon a price. You say you gave him a promissory note? Did it say, "I promise to pay" etc?

If you did a bill of sale and a promissory note with terms of repayment he can probably sue you for damages if you back out. If you want to be safe, offer him $50-100 to back out of the deal.
 
a bill of sale and a promissory note with terms of repayment? well, there was no bill of sale, and the promissary note had no terms of payment. it pretty much said, I promise to pay $x.xx. to you..barring any damages incurred after our inspection...and since there was no money or titles switching hands, there was no bill of sale.
 
Well I wouldn't be so quick to say there was no bill of sale as if there was no contract. He should have taken a deposit, even if it was $10, but the elements of a contract do exist in your note. You have definite terms, you have offer and acceptance, you have mutual consideration, and you memorialized it with some performance. The question is: why do you now not want the car?
 
well, first off, it just seemed iffy that the person didnt have the title handy,(on the 4th) then we had to chase that person down with some phone calls when they didnt contact us within the week(on the 12th), they then told us they were out of town for yet another week.(till the 18th) finally, i ended my relationship with the person i was going to buy the car with. so i really cant afford the car alone.
 
There is nothing iffy about not having the title in hand, especially when they did not take money from you they took your promise (which is looking iffy). You want to back out of this deal and you are making up reasons why its ok. It's not that I don't have sympathy for your actual reason (you can't afford it now that you broke up with someone) but that's not the seller's problem. You have an enforceable agreement.

Your best bet is to take $50 to him and say, hey look, I can't afford to buy the car. Would you accept this $50 and my apology for backing out of the deal? If he says yes and takes the money you are clear. If he says no, you are going to look very good before a court (as opposed to trying to make it his fault because you want to renege).

See what I mean?
 
am I legally bound to pay any differences in price if the owner sells it to someone else for less then what we agreed on?
 
Yes, you are likely to be bound by your agreement if you do not get a release as I have advised you to do. If he suffers damage by selling it for less in an arms length sale you could be liable for the difference, yes.

Why are you surprised? You made an agreement and are breaking it without a good reason.
 
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