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So Tuesday afternoon, I get home from work and there's a pile of mail on the counter. As I skim through the pile, I notice an envelope from the Fresno Police Department. I open it only to find a Vehicle Inventory Report - I skim through all the horrible police handwriting and realize that the Cavalier (that we sold LAST summer) has been impounded.
At first Im shocked that my poor little Cavalier is sitting in a lot somewhere, ALONE. And then Im angry that the people we sold the car to never took care of their end of registering the car with the DMV. Im still seen as the registered owner. Luckily my dad always imbedded in my mind to make a copy of EVERYTHING so I go through my home organizer and find the Release of Liability form I sent into the DMV and bring it with me to work the next morning to call the Police Department.
Luckily everything went smoothly. The woman is able to look up my case number and yes, verify, that the DMV has a copy of the liability form I sent in. She says theres nothing I need to do on my end with them, but they legally have to inform whoever is seen as the registered owner. I must have asked her a million times about any fees, and she reassures me that because we sent in the liability form there's nothing I need to do. She does advise I call the towing company that has the car to make sure there's nothing I need to do with them.
So I call Joe (the plumber?) I tell him my whole story and he asks if I had filed the release of liability with the DMV. I said I have and the police department has record of it. He says there's nothing I need to do then and everything will be taken care of. I thank him and he says, "You have a good day ma'am" (Ma'am? I just turned 24 - did I really sound like a ma'am"? I digress).
I think back to when we sold the Matt's Thunderbird and a few months later received a ticket in the mail because the people who bought it from us never registered it in their name. Seriously, is Fresno only filled with irresponsible people? (Dont answer that)
This is why you never sell your car to someone you don't know.
** In Memory of the Chevy Cavalier **
Summer Fun?
14 years ago
What a trial. It seems that this happens quite often and not just in Fresno. Uncle Ken says he gets these issues at the DMV all the time. People must think that if they don't register the car in their own name someone else will pick up the tab. You did the right thing in filing the release of liability form with the DMV and keeping a copy of it. Gotta protect yourself from those irresponsibles.
ReplyDeleteMy son sold his car a year ago and has been receiving tickets because the new owner never registered the car in his name. My son cannot find a "bill of sale" or a "release of liability" form, so I informed him he is still responsible for the car. He says the only thing he can think of doing is filing a police report saying the car was stolen. I informed him that would be filing a false police report. So now what do we do? Any suggestions, other than contacting our local DMV office?
ReplyDeleteother do's and dont's about how not to sell your motor are: - Not doing research
ReplyDelete- Listening to unfounded advice, - Not preparing your car for sale,- Trying to hide known faults from a buyer, - Selling to a professional buyer,- Not doing your paperwork,- Letting yourself be bullied by tyre-kickers now you know what not to do ...right!!