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NJLIG · Jul 11, 2007, 11:58 AM

My wife and I recently sold a vehicle as a private sale. She left some items on he visor, sentimental items from the war that were once her grandfathers. When the buyer was notified by us that we left these in the car, he stated that they saw them in the car, took them out and now can't find them. Can we take to small claims, would there be a fight? Would we have a chance?

Lowtax4eva · Jul 11, 2007, 12:06 PM

As per the FTC, all private car sales are "as-is" unless specified in a contract so my guess is he can fall back on this if you take him to court. PErhaps he really did lose the items or has kept them for himself.

I don't know if "as-is" covers anything you accidentally left in the car but a decent lawyer could make that assumption. I would keep emailing him and ask if he can please look for and return the items, but maybe someone else has another idea...

Buying a Used Car

NJLIG · Jul 11, 2007, 12:08 PM

The problem is they were stuck to the back of the visor and when we were cleaning we did not even think about it till a few days later. He aknowledged the fact that he took them out and just placed them in a "tool box" and not he can't find them. I think he is shady, I'm not sure it is worth hiring a lawyer but it may be worth seeing what a judge thinks. May we worth a shot so to speak.

Lowtax4eva · Jul 11, 2007, 12:22 PM

I would definitely have a consultation with a lawyer and ask if you have a case or if the "as-is" makes it impossible to get a verdict

ScottGem · Jul 11, 2007, 12:25 PM

I agree with Low. Plus this is a he said/she said thing. He lost them and that's the end of it. You have no proof he didn't.

froggy7 · Jul 11, 2007, 08:25 PM

Also, if I am not mistaken, in small claims court you can only get money. You might be able to sue for the value of the items, but the judge couldn't make him turn them over. And the monetary value of most "sentimental items" tends to be very low. So even if you did win the case, you might wind up with judgement of $10.

Brigger · Jul 11, 2007, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by NJLIG

My wife and I recently sold a vehicle as a private sale. She left some items on he visor, sentimental items from the war that were once her grandfathers. When the buyer was notified by us that we left these in the car, he stated that they saw them in the car, took them out and now can't find them. Can we take to small claims, would there be a fight? Would we have a chance?

My best advice would be to consult a lawyer, they some times do free consultation.

s_cianci · Jul 15, 2007, 07:28 PM

Legally, when you sold the car, anything left in it was rightfully the property of the new owner. If they choose to be nice and return them to you, then that's your only practical recourse. But since they "took them out and now can't find them", I doubt that that's going to happen. I'm sorry, but it looks like you're out those items.