Yahoo Autos Never Sell a Car to a Relative
Want to know the best way to get in trouble with your relatives? Sell one a car. Or worse–it seems–give the car to them.
I get phone calls at my law office from car buyers all day long, most complaining about warranty problems and cars that cannot be fixed. Many calls come from consumers who bought brand new cars and have Lemon Law claims. Many more come from used car buyers hoping they have some recourse for the "As Is" piece of junk blocking their driveway. But one of the most disturbing calls I get from time to time is from the person who bought a car from a relative. They now want to know if they can sue their uncle or cousin for the defective car they bought–or were given. I kid you not. I explain to them why they can't and sometimes I even explain to them why they shouldn't.
Which is why I warn people all the time: Think twice before selling a car to a relative. Yes, I know, if you have a good-running car that Blue Books for $500, it might make a nice car for someone you are related to. A starter car for little Jimmy who just got his driver's license!
But what will happen when that car which treated you so well decides to throw a connecting rod a week after you sell it cheap to your nephew? Is he, or his mother, going to believe that you really had no idea it was going to do that? We all know that things can happen randomly with cars but for some odd reason those random things have an ugly way of happening shortly after the car has changed hands.
I have never accepted a case on behalf of a relative who wanted to sue over a defective car which was sold in the family. But based on the number of calls I've gotten I'm sure a few of these have ended up in small claims court. And the ones that didn't? I bet it caused some tense family reunions. "See Uncle Bob smirking over there? He sold a defective Camry to little Jimmy. It almost killed him!"
And yes, because humans really can sink low, I have gotten phone calls from people who were given cars. The car was FREE. It then had some form of defect which the recipient (we can't use the word "buyer" since they did not pay for it) had to pay to have fixed. Can they sue the person who GAVE them the car? You don't need to be a lawyer to know that 1) no, you can't sue someone who gave you a gift. And 2) no, you shouldn't even be thinking about it.
But, as we have all learned from watching hours and hours of Jerry Springer, the world is full of people who have lost all perspective and are willing to at least think about suing someone who did them a favor. So, my advice is to sell that car to a stranger in an arm's length transaction. When your relatives ask why you did that, make up something. And tell yourself that it is better for them to be upset that you didn't sell them the car than to have them upset at you because you did.
Steve Lehto is a writer and attorney from Michigan. He specializes in Lemon Law and frequently writes about cars and the law. His most recent books include Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow, and Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird: Design, Development, Production and Competition. He also has a podcast where he talks about these things.
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