Sold my bike. However, only partial down payment.
 

I received a phone call about selling my bike. The buyer said he had cash in hand, but no mode of transportation. So I met him up. After agreeing on the price he takes a cab to the bank. He comes back with about 60% of the agreed price and says to come back tomorrow for the full amount. I agreed due to the fact I have to switch tanks and few other small jobs, and he really needed transportation to school tomorrow. I wrote out a contract, and held on to the title. I didn't include a clause stating refund, but said the bike is sold as is. I think I messed up on the refund clause. What's the worse that can happen?!

You messed up letting him have the bike IMHO... Hope it works out for you.

I thought of that as I was walking away. I have a extra set of keys for it and the title. I will hope for the best.

That's good. Hopefully you can find it again if he flakes

LOL don't say that! I was leaning more towards it getting impounded for the guy trying to play some GTA.

Whose plates and insurance are on the bike?

Hope it works out this time but IMHO that was not the smartest move on your part.

Why would you do that? Goodbye to the bike. Either totaled, or stolen and parted. AZ requires you keep the plates with you and not the bike. Maybe he's robbing a bank with it and running up parking tickets for all you know.

Buyer takes possession when paid in full. Not a second before.

rjp

I'm at profit with the 60% of down payment, so that's why I agreed. I'll put in a sold form at the service Arizona site. So that should take care of the plate issue. Insurance well I'll have to call my agent in the morning.

there is no way!!

good luck..posted to subscribe.

If you report it "sold" you will not be able to report it stolen later. Prickly situation. I would cancel the insurance on it but not report it "sold". If there is a liability problem for tickets or accidents, you can use the contract to prove you were not responsible.

Good Luck - let's hope you have an honest guy here. I am worried that his intentions may have been great, but he may be flat out broke. If all you have to ride is a bike and a taxi, that's not a good sign ...

G

Well the funny thing is the kid is from the middle east. He has no mechanical knowledge, and I'll put the bike on it he doesn't have enough friends to make the bike "disappear". After talking to him, I had the feeling that if the deal went south, he would have more to be out then me.

This just keeps getting worse. Seriously. Good luck man.

I'm going to let this go until tomorrow. If y'all see a thread tomorrow asking the legal way to repo a vehicle. You'll know what went wrong! Lol

Maybe it'll be fine. But fwiw I never give anything to anyone until it is paid in full. I have done "payments" for musical instruments in the past, but they don't take delivery until I have all of the cash.

Bicycles have titles in your state?

If the guy is a no-show, it is pretty simple. Call him tomorrow evening and tell him you will report the bike stolen in 24 hours if he does not pay the balance. You hopefully have his license (picture or cc) and reporting him to the police will be a breeze. That should at least bring the bike back, if it doesn't bring the balance. Then you can work out a deal on the "rental fee" for your inconvenience and wear / tear on the bike.

G

Hmmmm....well, I would never do that. Money in my hand = you get keys. But knowing the kid is from the middle east actually gives me hope. Things are not so clean cut when it comes to a deal in much of the world. You might have to haggle a bit more, but if you've got the title, you do have leverage.

The title probably doesn't mean jack to him. Nor does registering the bike.

He'll just ride it illegally for as long as it takes for him to get finally pulled over and the bike impounded.

If he doesn't come back to pay the rest and get the title, report it as stolen, since technically it is.

Why could he get only 60% today? What difference would 1 day make? Is that all he could get out of an ATM or is tomorrow his payday? If it isn't one of those two, I'd say there is a decent chance you won't see him tomorrow, maybe sometime, but not tomorrow.

As you gave the buyer a bill of sale and possession of the bike, then reported the sale to your state if he doesn't pay you the balance the matter is now a civil matter and the police probably won't do a thing if you go to them.

You would have to track him down and sue him in court to try and collect on your contact.

A couple years ago a buddy sold a vehicle. He sold it to a guy he sort of knew and the buyer asked to use his licence plates to drive the vehicle home (about 10 minutes away). He said ok. The plates expired at midnight that day so he wasn't too worried about them. A month later the guy he sold the vehicle to was pulled over by the police driving around with the expired plates on the vehicle. The new owner was charged with no insurance, no registration, un licenced vehicle and illegal use of plates. The police go to my buddy and ask if he sold the vehicle to the guy they caught. He tells them yes he sold it and the guy was suppose to return the plates and hasn't. A month later he is served with a subpoena to appear in court to answer a charge of allowing illegal use of plates. He goes to court and the judge asks him what happened and he tells the story. When he finishes the judge finds him guilty and fines him $250. The judge says as soon as you handed over the bill of sale the vehicle became the new owners property and the plates should have been removed.

I don't know what the laws are where you live but I'd find out before calling the police.