- Jurisdiction
- California
I hope I am posting this on the right area of the forum, if I am not, I apologize for that since I am relatively new to the forum. I also apologize for the long post, I am going to post and describe everything that occurred so that everyone can get a good view of the situation.
Good Evening to Everyone,
To start off, on 12/18/15 (Friday), I sold my car (1999 Toyota Solara SLE V6 - 2 door) to a buyer who had replied to my Craigslist posting. We both agreed to meet up at a local Bart Station where he would be able to inspect the car prior to buying it and I preferred to meet at a public place instead of meeting at my house. The buyer requested to have the car checked out by his mechanic, I agreed and we both went in the car I was selling and I drove it to his mechanic. We get there, his mechanic tests drives the car, puts the car on their lift and VISUALLY starts inspecting the car. Now, I have owned the car for roughly 4-5 months, I originally bought the car also from Craigslist in San Francisco to use as a commuter car for my work, requiring me to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to: Sacramento, Red Bluff, Lakeport/Clearlake and Monterey/Salinas area. I decided to sell the car because I decided I would prefer a 4 door car over a 2 door car. During the 4-5 months of me owning the car and using it for work, the car gave me NO PROBLEMS whatsoever. The only thing that I did change on the car was the brake pads and brake rotors by my mechanic due to them being worn out.
Back to his mechanic, after putting the car on the lift and visually inspecting it, he tells me and the buyer that there are some leaks in the oil pain and that it might need to be replaced soon, a small leak at another part (I apologize, I can't remember the part the mechanic mentioned), some rusting in parts of the car. I asked the mechanic how was the drive when he TEST DROVE it and he said the car DROVE WELL AND FINE.
At this point, the buyer starts negotiating me on the price, I had listed the car at $2400 and he tells me it's gonna cost him a couple hundred dollars to replace some things in the car. At first I didn't want to sell the car to him since he was asking for a price of $1500 but I thought about it and decided $1500 was fine with me. So we decided on $1500, shook hands and sealed the deal. I gave the title to him, filled out the necessary areas that I needed to fill out and kept the top portion for me (The Notice of Liability and Release). The buyer agreed to drop me off at a local BART station so I could go home. I went ahead and filed the Notice of Transfer and Release Of Liability online at dmv.ca.gov on the same day that I sold my car (12/18/15)and kept the receipt confirming I did notify DMV that I have sold the car to the buyer and that I no longer own the vehicle.
On the same day (12/18/15) while I was sorting out my stuffs that I took out of my Solara, I realized that I had forgotten some of my items in the middle compartment. I called the buyer and asked him if it would be fine for me to come to him to gather my things out of my car that I had forgotten. He replied that he was going to work and that he would not be available. I said that would fine with me, I decided to ask him if he had already registered the car at his local DMV, he replied he hasn't and that he was going to do it next week on Monday (12/21/15) since he wouldn't have time today and we ended the call there. I also ended my insurance for my Solara on the same day I sold the car.
Now I get a call today on Saturday (12/19/15) from the buyer, he tells me that whenever he drives the car, he hears a clunking sound coming from the car. He asked me if this has ever happened before and I told him no, the car never gave me any problems during the time I owned it. He tells me ok and I tell him maybe you could get your mechanic to check it out? (The same mechanic he had inspect the car prior to him buying it). He says ok ok, and sounds a bit annoyed/frustrated and hangs up the phone.
My concern is would I be liable for anything to the car after selling it? Prior to us finalizing the deal, the seller was with me in the car when I drove us to his mechanic and during that time, there were no sounds coming from the car and it drove well. He also had his mechanic inspect the car and pointed out several problems but did say the car drove fine (I don't think a leaky oil pan would cause a loud knocking sound coming from the car and it was only a small leak not a major leak). When I also posted the car on craigslist, I also listed everything about the car, even the license plate number on the pictures and I even included the VIN number so people would be able to run a CarFax if they chose to do so. I even posted that the car had a couple dents and scratches (that you could clearly see in the pictures I posted).
I'm just worried the buyer might sue me for selling him a car that had problems when in fact I was very honest with him and he even had his mechanic check everything out. Do you guys have any advice in how I should handle this matter? I know I might sound like I am freaking out a bit too much but this is my first time selling a car on Craigslist and I am just worried the buyer might try to pin any repair bills on me. Should I go back to his mechanic and get a WRITTEN STATEMENT that when he inspected the car, that it DROVE WELL and that the only problems he saw on the car were the ones I listed above? Also, could I be held responsible for any accidents and/or traffic violations while the buyer drives it this weekend? (I know he still hasn't registered the car under his name since he said he would do it on Monday of next week but I have already filed the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability with the California DMV on the same day I sold the car to him.) Should I just offer to get the car back and return the money? (I'm perfectly fine with getting the car back and returning the money to him, I just don't want this to turn into some big issue).
Thank you for any help regarding this matter!
Good Evening to Everyone,
To start off, on 12/18/15 (Friday), I sold my car (1999 Toyota Solara SLE V6 - 2 door) to a buyer who had replied to my Craigslist posting. We both agreed to meet up at a local Bart Station where he would be able to inspect the car prior to buying it and I preferred to meet at a public place instead of meeting at my house. The buyer requested to have the car checked out by his mechanic, I agreed and we both went in the car I was selling and I drove it to his mechanic. We get there, his mechanic tests drives the car, puts the car on their lift and VISUALLY starts inspecting the car. Now, I have owned the car for roughly 4-5 months, I originally bought the car also from Craigslist in San Francisco to use as a commuter car for my work, requiring me to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to: Sacramento, Red Bluff, Lakeport/Clearlake and Monterey/Salinas area. I decided to sell the car because I decided I would prefer a 4 door car over a 2 door car. During the 4-5 months of me owning the car and using it for work, the car gave me NO PROBLEMS whatsoever. The only thing that I did change on the car was the brake pads and brake rotors by my mechanic due to them being worn out.
Back to his mechanic, after putting the car on the lift and visually inspecting it, he tells me and the buyer that there are some leaks in the oil pain and that it might need to be replaced soon, a small leak at another part (I apologize, I can't remember the part the mechanic mentioned), some rusting in parts of the car. I asked the mechanic how was the drive when he TEST DROVE it and he said the car DROVE WELL AND FINE.
At this point, the buyer starts negotiating me on the price, I had listed the car at $2400 and he tells me it's gonna cost him a couple hundred dollars to replace some things in the car. At first I didn't want to sell the car to him since he was asking for a price of $1500 but I thought about it and decided $1500 was fine with me. So we decided on $1500, shook hands and sealed the deal. I gave the title to him, filled out the necessary areas that I needed to fill out and kept the top portion for me (The Notice of Liability and Release). The buyer agreed to drop me off at a local BART station so I could go home. I went ahead and filed the Notice of Transfer and Release Of Liability online at dmv.ca.gov on the same day that I sold my car (12/18/15)and kept the receipt confirming I did notify DMV that I have sold the car to the buyer and that I no longer own the vehicle.
On the same day (12/18/15) while I was sorting out my stuffs that I took out of my Solara, I realized that I had forgotten some of my items in the middle compartment. I called the buyer and asked him if it would be fine for me to come to him to gather my things out of my car that I had forgotten. He replied that he was going to work and that he would not be available. I said that would fine with me, I decided to ask him if he had already registered the car at his local DMV, he replied he hasn't and that he was going to do it next week on Monday (12/21/15) since he wouldn't have time today and we ended the call there. I also ended my insurance for my Solara on the same day I sold the car.
Now I get a call today on Saturday (12/19/15) from the buyer, he tells me that whenever he drives the car, he hears a clunking sound coming from the car. He asked me if this has ever happened before and I told him no, the car never gave me any problems during the time I owned it. He tells me ok and I tell him maybe you could get your mechanic to check it out? (The same mechanic he had inspect the car prior to him buying it). He says ok ok, and sounds a bit annoyed/frustrated and hangs up the phone.
My concern is would I be liable for anything to the car after selling it? Prior to us finalizing the deal, the seller was with me in the car when I drove us to his mechanic and during that time, there were no sounds coming from the car and it drove well. He also had his mechanic inspect the car and pointed out several problems but did say the car drove fine (I don't think a leaky oil pan would cause a loud knocking sound coming from the car and it was only a small leak not a major leak). When I also posted the car on craigslist, I also listed everything about the car, even the license plate number on the pictures and I even included the VIN number so people would be able to run a CarFax if they chose to do so. I even posted that the car had a couple dents and scratches (that you could clearly see in the pictures I posted).
I'm just worried the buyer might sue me for selling him a car that had problems when in fact I was very honest with him and he even had his mechanic check everything out. Do you guys have any advice in how I should handle this matter? I know I might sound like I am freaking out a bit too much but this is my first time selling a car on Craigslist and I am just worried the buyer might try to pin any repair bills on me. Should I go back to his mechanic and get a WRITTEN STATEMENT that when he inspected the car, that it DROVE WELL and that the only problems he saw on the car were the ones I listed above? Also, could I be held responsible for any accidents and/or traffic violations while the buyer drives it this weekend? (I know he still hasn't registered the car under his name since he said he would do it on Monday of next week but I have already filed the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability with the California DMV on the same day I sold the car to him.) Should I just offer to get the car back and return the money? (I'm perfectly fine with getting the car back and returning the money to him, I just don't want this to turn into some big issue).
Thank you for any help regarding this matter!
