A good Michigan attorney??

[group911@aol.co]

Anybody know a good attorney in The Detroit area? Just put a deposit on a car last night at sellers agreed to price and get a call this morning saying he has had other offers and is reneging on the deal. Any ideas?

[dimeified]

imho im no attorney but i think so long as he refunds your deposit in full, there is nothing you can do

[Oh Haha]

Try contacting GLASEM by pm. He may be able to help.

[McLaren-TAG]

If you don't have something in writing with his and your signatures then you don't have anything.

Walk away and look for another car. Crap happens, let the guy make a few more bucks for his car, you don't raise your blood pressure and if there's such a thing as karma, you'll bump into a better example for less money.

[widgeon13]

Same thing happened to mew/ a Ford dealer. Corp wouldn't do ****. They absolutely left me hanging and I had contract and made $1000 deposit via credit card.

I'll NEVER buy a Ford product.

Save your time and money and put it behind you.

[dimeified]

besides, the first sign of trouble, maybe the exhaust backfires, your going to wonder from then on if he sabotaged the car to sandbag you for taking him to court, and if he did, its probably impossible to prove.

[group911@aol.co]

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

Try contacting GLASEM by pm. He may be able to help.

Will do. Thanks
I'm a little taken aback that what sounded like a nice 70 yo guy decides he wants to piss backwards on a deal after listening to him whine about getting screwed out of his job because of age.
The whole deal was just lust on my part. Just couldn't resist another car.

[wayner]

From my understanding, written or not, money changing hands make for a legally binding contract.

Providing evidence is the hard part without it in writing.

[Michael T]

Did you agree to anything over email? If so ,what did it say before you sent a deposit? Be interested to hear.

[Derek911]

One old guy backing out of a deal complaining about a lost job... Another old guy looking to sue complaining about a lost car.
The current owner has the right to sell the car to whomever they choose as long as a contract of sale has not been drawn up. Even after a contact, there is recourse but mostly limited to making both parties whole which means deposit refunded. Waste of court and forum time. If the seller was really crazy, he could keep your deposit if there is no proof of receiving one. We get emotionally caught up, but in the end, the transaction is not complete until a contract of sale is signed and money exchanged.

[Derek911]

[QUOTE=wayner;8326138]From my understanding, written or not, money changing hands make for a legally binding contract.

Send me some money without something in writing of some sort and let's see how that works out. Your word against mine. Deposits should be sent along with a binding contract of sale... Even then, contract could be void if deposits are returned. There is mild recourse, but deposit returned is the extent of it. There are plenty of forms available online for deposits for car sales. Giving someone money with nothing in writing is asking for trouble.

[Matt Monson]

The real shame of a situation like this is the high bidder can show up, pick the car apart, and beat the old man down to group911's original price. Then the old man accepts because it's no skin off his nose. Bottomline people are greedy and generally selfish.

[group911@aol.co]

Originally Posted by Michael T

Did you agree to anything over email? If so ,what did it say before you sent a deposit? Be interested to hear.

This is the email I sent as we were talking on the phone. He agreed verbally to hold the car till I got there on Friday to complete the transaction.
"Jim
Sent you a deposit via Paypal for the 1994 Speedster listed on the PCA website.
If you can send the VIN# , some pictures and any info you have on it, it would be appreciated.
If you have a chance to take some pics of any damage or issues, that would be great.
I think I can get there on Friday, the 31st to inspect the car and hopefully everything will check out and we can complete the deal."

[Uncle Enzo]

I had this happen a few years ago on an E36M3 I was looking to purchase. We had agreed to a number and I gave them a cool G until I could wire the funds the following monday. I then get a call Sunday telling me they got an offer 1000.00 bucks higher. With that I tell them we did shake on it but its their choice and they can do what they feel is right. I more or less called the guys honor into question. He called me an hour later to apologize and that his word was worth more than a few bills. In the end I took the high road and finished on top.

[47silver]

Your email should not have hopefully in it. It should read
As agree you are selling me a xxxx car model z vin# for $$,$$$$. And as you requested I sent you a paypal deposit of $$$$$ and will pay the remaining amount of $$$$$ when I pick up the car on the agreed upon date.
Please respond via fax or email

[dentist90]

Agree, that email doesn't appear to be a binding offer. It sounds more like a letter of intent with a cash deposit, but there appear to be subjects attached ie, condition of car. This one might have gotten away, hopefully the old buzzard will promptly refund your PayPal. Maybe his better offer will pass on it and you can negotiate a lower price. My experience is that once a lawyer is involved the only one profiting from this will be the lawyer.

[wayner]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by wayner

From my understanding, written or not, money changing hands make for a legally binding contract.



Send me some money without something in writing of some sort and let's see how that works out. Your word against mine. Deposits should be sent along with a binding contract of sale... Even then, contract could be void if deposits are returned. There is mild recourse, but deposit returned is the extent of it. There are plenty of forms available online for deposits for car sales. Giving someone money with nothing in writing is asking for trouble.

Your are confusing two different things

1) legally binding contracts
2) evidence of such

Two separate discussions.

Money changing hands falls under contract law.

documenting the transaction is a good practice. Cash doesn't leave much evidence but a cancelled check or paypal transaction does

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by group911@aol.co

This is the email I sent as we were talking on the phone. He agreed verbally to hold the car till I got there on Friday to complete the transaction.
"Jim
Sent you a deposit via Paypal for the 1994 Speedster listed on the PCA website.
If you can send the VIN# , some pictures and any info you have on it, it would be appreciated.
If you have a chance to take some pics of any damage or issues, that would be great.
I think I can get there on Friday, the 31st to inspect the car and hopefully everything will check out and we can complete the deal."

You put in an offer contingent on inspection. Even if you had it in writing, not sure it would hold up in court...

Good luck.

Bo

[Dueller]

Offer.
Acceptance.
Con$ideration.
Meeting of the minds.

Sorry. I don't see evidence of legally binding contract for sale. What are your damages? Loss of potential enjoyment? Loss of profit after you fixed and flipped?

Let it go. He didn't keep your deposit. Life is too short and not worth involving lawyers.

And I am an attorney.

[Racerbvd]

Report him to the PCA since that is where he placed the ad..