I know a girl with a suspended license who offered to buy my piece of junk beater. I know that if I sell her this car, she will use it to break the law and drive without a license.
I’m not sure that I would even be legally faultless if she was arrested, let alone morally. I’m more interested in the moral question than the legal one, though. Is there a good moral reason not to sell this car? Should I really be concerned with how an item I sell is used after I sell it?
For the record, I’ve decided not to sell her my car, even though it’s unlikely that anyone else will want it and I’ll lose money by having to settle for junkyard value. What would you have done in my situation?
If the girl was just a hazard to herself, I’d be fine selling it to her. But a car driver isn’t just a hazard to herself, so… A thousand dollars or so isn’t worth the chance of killing someone.
How far would you take that, though? Would you call the cops if you saw her tomorrow, driving in a new car? I wouldn’t, but I can’t give myself a reasonable reason why not.
Morally, you shouldn’t sell her the car. If you didn’t know about her suspended license, then that would be one thing. But you should not participate in providing a car to her when you know she’s likely to do something reckless and illegal with it.
Legally it seems likely you’re in the clear, but IANAL.
Yeah, but don’t you have to prove you have insurance in order to register the car? If the OP’s friend bought the car and didn’t transfer the title, he could be liable, I think. But IANAL or even very smart.
If her roommate fronts the insurance, you should be safe but I would insist on being present when the title transfer takes place. I have to wonder if the roommate understands his liability but that shouldn’t be your problem.
What state are you in, at least here in CA you can fill out a form called a “transfer of liability” that basically says “I have taken posession of this car and if I wreck it between now and when I register it at the DMV in my name its my problem not the guy who just sold it to me.”
I would think once you sign your title over to the purchaser and have a bill of sale you’re done as far as any legal ownership of the vehicle, whether they retitle it or not.
How do arms dealers stay in business. They sell killing machines. A car is a killing machine. It’s not your fault that she got her license suspended. How do you know that she’ll use it now? I dunno, I just don’t particularly care for being held responsible for other’s stupidity. Either you get her money, or someone else will who doesn’t happen to know that.
Here’s something sobering: A guy got a life sentence for supplying the car for a robbery that turned fatal, and he wasn’t even present for the crime itself.
The guy in that picture in your link should seriously play the Joker in the next Batman movie. He looks pretty happy…how could anyone be happy in that situation?
Somebody needs to ask the question—do you know what her license was suspended for? DUI? Reckless driving? Unpaid parking tickets? Overdue library book?
Just out of curiosity, and if you know and are willing to divulge, any idea why her license was suspended? If I felt the moral dilemma that you do, I think that answer would play a large part in my decision making process (legal issues aside).
Completely depends on what she got her license suspended for. I have a good friend is a perfectly ok driver…but he’s irresponsible as hell. He’ll get pulled over for expired tags or somethign…never go to court…eventually wind up witout a vaild license but I wouldn’t hesitate to sell him a car. He’s not a danger to anyone, and his quarrels with the municpal court are none of my business.
I also have known people with multpiple DWI’s that I wouldnt sell a car to even if they had a valid license.
I’m gonna need a bigger house for all of them.