Minor Bought Used Car Without Contract Wants Refund

[JonathanPM]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I live in California and I bought a used car from an ad on Craigslist.. I who am 19years old took my girlfriend who is not yet 18 yet to see the car. I inspected the car and test drove it and everything seemed fine. I liked the car so did we decided on getting it. We bought the car on a lot for car repairs and the person who sold me the car told me it was a private sale. He wanted an Id and I had my wallet stolen that week before so my girlfriend had to use her driving license and they took a copy of her Id knowing she was underage and only have us the vehicle title transfer. She signed it and that's was it. We paid cash and was given no receipt. We do have the bank statement which shows we withdrawal the money from the bank. When we realized the car had just completed stalled on us an wouldn't turn on we called the guy and told him and he just said it was sold as is. He tried to charge is $745 to repair it and later lowered it. I told him since he was selling more than 6 cars from that place he had to have a license and he claimed he did. Now I want to refund my money since my car was told to be in great condition for me and my family since I told them I had a daughter that would be in the car. He didn't give us a warranty but verbally told us if anything was wrong he would fix it for $100. Could we sue for the money back since it is under my girlfriends name (a minor)? ALSO THE CARS NAME WAS NOT UNDER THE GUYS NAME WHO SOLD IT TO US SO IS THAT FRAUD FOR SIGNING A FORGE SIGNATURE FOR THE TITLE? Please don't be rude it's a rookie mistake and it was our first car.

 

[TheGeekess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I live in California and I bought a used car from an ad on Craigslist.. I who am 19years old took my girlfriend who is not yet 18 yet to see the car. I inspected the car and test drove it and everything seemed fine. I liked the car so did we decided on getting it. We bought the car on a lot for car repairs and the person who sold me the car told me it was a private sale. He wanted an Id and I had my wallet stolen that week before so my girlfriend had to use her driving license and they took a copy of her Id knowing she was underage and only have us the vehicle title transfer. She signed it and that's was it. We paid cash and was given no receipt. We do have the bank statement which shows we withdrawal the money from the bank. When we realized the car had just completed stalled on us an wouldn't turn on we called the guy and told him and he just said it was sold as is. He tried to charge is $745 to repair it and later lowered it. I told him since he was selling more than 6 cars from that place he had to have a license and he claimed he did. Now I want to refund my money since my car was told to be in great condition for me and my family since I told them I had a daughter that would be in the car. He didn't give us a warranty but verbally told us if anything was wrong he would fix it for $100. Could we sue for the money back since it is under my girlfriends name (a minor)? ALSO THE CARS NAME WAS NOT UNDER THE GUYS NAME WHO SOLD IT TO US SO IS THAT FRAUD FOR SIGNING A FORGE SIGNATURE FOR THE TITLE? Please don't be rude it's a rookie mistake and it was our first car.

You failed to take a used car to a trusted mechanic to look over it before you purchased it. Hope you enjoy your new car.

 

[swalsh411]

There are 145,678 articles online about the right way to buy a used car. Every single one of them says to take the car to an independent mechanic prior to inspection.

 

[justalayman]

Minor Bought Used Car Without Contract Wants Refund

your description describes YOU, the 19 yo buying the car.

I bought a used car

we [sic]withdrawal

I want to refund my money since my car was told to be in great condition for me and my family since I told them I had a daughter that would be in the car.

of course all car salesmen are 100% honest with no blustering.

He didn't give us a warranty but verbally told us if anything was wrong he would fix it for $100

and your proof is?

Could we sue for the money back since it is under my girlfriends name (a minor)?

You can try but it appears she was acting as your agent since, after all, YOU bought a car.

ALSO THE CARS NAME WAS NOT UNDER THE GUYS NAME WHO SOLD IT TO US SO IS THAT FRAUD FOR SIGNING A FORGE SIGNATURE FOR THE TITLE?

Ok, that actually may be of some benefit for you but explain what you mean by he forged a signature.




actually there may be something else that helps you given it is in California. Is there a current smog cert on the car?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Has the car passed inspection or does it have a recent inspection sticker? So you are claiming you exploited a minor in this purchase for you? What does the minors parent say?

 

[swalsh411]

Isn't there a law in CA about a smog certificate? I don't know the details but it's come up here before.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Isn't there a law in CA about a smog certificate? I don't know the details but it's come up here before.

That is why I asked about the inspection.

 

[JonathanPM]

Smog certificate

The guy said he was gunna do the Smog check for free at his shop so we could finish transferring the title to my girlfriends name. And I didn't exploit my girlfriend for being a minor. We were there as a family trying to purchase a reliable car . Now the car is hers since its under her name.

 

[JonathanPM]

Forged signature

What I meant about the fraud part was that he signed as another person the guy who sold us the car was not listed on the title and I have two copies with "his signature" and u could obviously see the difference of him trying to do different signatures.

 

[FlyingRon]

One of you made an offer, the other accepted.
One of you tendered money, the other gave the car.
That's a contract.

There's no obligation for signatures.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

The guy said he was gunna do the Smog check for free at his shop so we could finish transferring the title to my girlfriends name. And I didn't exploit my girlfriend for being a minor. We were there as a family trying to purchase a reliable car . Now the car is hers since its under her name. Where are this childs parents?

You had her knowingly enter into an illegal contract for your benefit. That would be exploitation. Somehow, I think you playing house with her be considered sexual exploitation of a minor. Care to take her to Vegas for a Mann Act violation? Consider the terms exploitation in the context of an adult having significant control over a minor.

 

[Just Blue]

Cali has very serious AOC Laws. Just sayin'.

 

[justalayman]

Oh, and by the way; you don't think you actually get to rescind the contract after you broke the car, even if it is determined the minor was the contracting party, do you?

You do have a couple other possibilities. Follow those to see if you have any recourse.

 

[Zigner]

California doesn't have annual vehicle inspections or inspection stickers.

 

[justalayman]

I was speaking of the smog cert


http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/smogfaq.htm

When a car is sold, who is responsible for the inspection?

The seller is required to provide the buyer with a valid smog inspection certification at the time of the sale or transfer. Smog certifications are good for 90 days from the date of issuance.

The inspection is not required on a transfer if a biennial smog certification was submitted to DMV within 90 days prior to the vehicle transfer date (a vehicle inspection report may be required for proof of certification)