Originally Posted by mcculloughco
I Had a 2004 ford f350 4x4 posted here on this excellent site and got alot of attention, and also some wrong attention by this goof who made promises his ars couldnt deliver. its been a week now waiting for his down payment and combined with my loss of work(600.00) and a retainer(300.00) given to my attorney to do the sale contract on the deal, i am out all this and the sale of my truck to others who were definitely interested in it. I AM PISSED AND FIT TO BE TIED ABOUT THIS JERK AND HIM WASTING MY TIME AND MONEY. MY ADVICE TO YOU ALL: DONT TAKE YOUR AD DOWN, DONT MAKE ANY PROMISES OR WASTE YOUR TIME UNTIL YOU HAVE A RETAINER, THEN MOVE FORWARD. i didnt go with my gut on this one and it cost me, so maybe my situation will help you avoid one similarly in the future. good luck and praise to the guys who work here, for helping me resolve this and get my ad reposted. good luck everyone.
Its really not that complicated.
I run a sole proprietorship for my cars and parts- I use an on-line legal service for my bill-of-sale- $30 annual subscription, multiple use and its valid and legal.
But did you know that your local DMV might have a pdf of a bill of sale downloadable for free? Maryland's does-
So $300 to an attorney for a retainer to draft a bill-of-sale is simply unnecessary, that you claim that you lost wages to meet the attorney was your choice and cost of doing business. Most attorneys I deal with offer evening hours to minimize or eliminate just such an issue. Did you ask?
As to holding a car on a proposed deposit, is this the first vehicle you ever sold? Did you browse the forum before you posted? If so you would see that failure to remit is a common occurrence.
Chris said it well- first to arrive with cash gets vehicle. But Gungho's comment is legit as well in this era of internet proliferation. So what do you do?
Hold the car for three days pending receipt of deposit. Not received, car in play.
If buyer says deposit is in mail, confirm that it is non-refundable and holds car for two weeks- confirm in writing (after receipt of payment) and then after two weeks car is in play again. (Again apply three day rule and if deposit comes in after vehicle sold then return deposit).
All you have to do is set terms that protect you and then document in writing- email makes it pretty darn easy dont you think?
Again, this stuff is not that complicated.
Scorp