How long to wait before asking guy to pick up his car?

Originally Posted by gathermewool
You have a piece of property under your care. It should be insured. What in the heck do you think happens if it's damaged or, "not as described" when the buyer agrees to finally pick it up? If the vehicle is damaged between when the buyer purchased it and when he picks it up AND you don't make it whole, do you think he will have any recourse for suing you to get his money back?

Assuming the buyer does NOT pick the car up ever, what happens if the car is totaled between now, when the buyer gives you zero dollars for storage and abandons it, and when you decide to finally sell it again?

Stored vehicle insurance is pretty cheap; I'd look into it.


I've got my own cars parked there too worth more than this one and have no insurance. I take the risk of a very small chance any damage will happen. Fine with me. I don't know any insurance company that will insure a car you don't own. That's ripe for fraud. And go to any self-storage place in town and ask them if they are responsible for any damage to your car stored on their property. They will tell you no. Get your own insurance.
 
I said in an earlier post that I completely do not understand this situation. And I don't understand it any more now. It seems like some sort of bizarre game.

There is not a chance in heck that there will be one dime of storage paid in this instance. Not a year or two ago, not tomorrow, and certainly not a year from now, especially if your buyer is deceased. The car is diminishing in value and in another year from now, it will be worth less than it is today and you still won't be seeing your $3800.00 in storage fees. Even if your buyer is still happily living and breathing.

Call the guy and get it done, one way or another. Time to get real...if this story is in fact real.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by atikovi


1) I contact him today and he picks it up by the end of the month. I get $2600 for the storage.
2) I contact him 1 year from now and he picks up by the end of that month. I get $3800 for the storage.
3) I contact him 1 year from now and get no reply. I apply for title and get $5-6K for it when I sell it.

Which do you think is the better scenario?

You have blinders on. Contact him now, no response and sell it now. It will be worth less as all cars depreciate one or 2 years from now. If he doesn't pick up collect 2600 now and make him pay every month til pickup. Stick money in stock market. You missed 30% return last year.

Also you wouldn't get insurance on the car you get insurance on the property so that if something happened to the car on the property it would be covered.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi


1) I contact him today and he picks it up by the end of the month. I get $2600 for the storage.
2) I contact him 1 year from now and he picks up by the end of that month. I get $3800 for the storage.
3) I contact him 1 year from now and get no reply. I apply for title and get $5-6K for it when I sell it.

Which do you think is the better scenario?


You're comparing three fantasies, so selecting among them is pointless.

Something happened to the seller. Years ago.

Without a written agreement, you're not getting the hundred/month for storage, ever.

Contact him now. Get this settled now.
 
I'll give the buyer the benefit of the doubt.

$100/mo is a reasonable price for car storage in the NE. Reality too is that come one who is buying a vacation house, and a separate car for said house, probably has the means to pay for storage for $1200/yr.

I don't know how much the car was/is worth, but assuming it's some multiple of that, and it is an interesting, nice car, that has some desirability (despite the comment of not making reserve on eBay), it seems like this could be a low cost mutually beneficial scenario.

That said, money is owed, which OP may or may not recover. In his favor is a scenario of an international sale with a product never picked up. Not in his favor is lack of storage contract. But it seems this was done in good faith for a temporary scenario that dragged out.

I'd contact the buyer again, and indicate thst you need to recover accrued storage fees in accordance with the agreement, every 12 months at minimum. Use all appropriate means of communication, including whatever kind of registered/certified mail you can get up there, and see where it goes.
 
The email communication is the contract. So what that it's not on a piece of paper. It's a written agreement.

It's an open ended agreement from what I understand but the OP is correct to do a reasonableness test at this point. Maybe the buyer is no longer and he needs to deal with the descendents. He is holding someone else's property and monies are owed to him.
 
Do you have any kind've addendum which states if vehicle isn't claimed within a certain period that they forfeit all moneys and said vehicle?
 
I looked up past messages about storage where he acknowledges, OK. The reason for no payment is I suggested Paypal friends and family but that wasn't available from Canada, so I told him just to pay it all at once on pick up.

Sent: Monday, November 27, 2017 at 9:53 AM
From: "Doug xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: "Ati Kovi" xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Volvo C30

Ok - starting dec ? How do I pay ?

I am in Florida until Friday..


Doug xxxxxxxxx


On Nov 27, 2017, at 9:25 AM, Ati Kovi wrote:


It would be $100 a month.



Ati



Sent: Monday, November 27, 2017 at 9:11 AM
From: "Doug xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: "Ati Kovi"
Subject: Re: Volvo C30

Thanks Avi - what is storage fee ? We were planning on buying house in NC but hasn't worked out yet


Doug xxxxxxxxxxx


On Nov 25, 2017, at 9:06 PM, Ati Kovi wrote:


Hello,

Seeing if you made any plans for picking up the C30. You're welcome to keep it stored here as long as you need to, but would have to switch to a monthly storage fee after the end of the month.

Thanks,

Ati Kovi
 
Seems premature to argue over whether or not you have any kind of enforceable agreement when your putative defendant is not just out of your judicial district, but in fact a foreign national. I'm assuming you don't want to go to Canada to attempt to enforce your agreement,

States have long arm statutes that set out when a state has extra territorial personal jurisdiction over individuals who are not residents of the state. You are in a federal enclave; federal district courts generally look to the long arm statute of the state in which they sit, but that may or may not apply to a court in D. C. D.C. may have its own long arm statute. There may or may not be personal jurisdiction over the Canadian in D. C..

It sounds a lot like you have made a bailment for hire; generally the standard of care for a bailment for hire is ordinary care as defined by the law of the relevant jurisdiction. You might want to look into that vis-s-vis your jurisdiction.

Your best bet is to contact a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction to see if, and how, you can enforce a lien against the property in your possession, and then follow the procedure for foreclosing that lien. My $ 0.02 USD would be to shed yourself of this problem sooner rather than later.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi


Why should the SELLER have to contact the buyer? If the buyer is so concerned, he would have contacted seller a long time ago. And technically, he's not a seller anymore after the initial deal for the 3 months of free storage expired, but a storer, if that is a real word.


For crying out loud but this thread needs to just go away
 
At this point this thread is
35.gif


OP appears to only want to complain, not take any action.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Sent an email yesterday as suggested. Will see what happens.



Thank you. Follow up.
 
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by atikovi
Sent an email yesterday as suggested. Will see what happens.



Thank you. Follow up.


If that follow up occurs and action has been taken, then I will retract my previous post.
 
I called him at his office afterwards as well. Said he owes me storage and hasn't found a house in the states yet. Will be sending money. I'll report back if I get something.
 
Two years is a long time to mess around with this. I would have parked it at a long term airport parking lot somewhere and mailed him the keys and address of the lot and walked away from it.
 
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