Situation:
I sold a vehicle several months ago to a friend. Vehicle transmission died, friend took said vehicle to mechanic to get fixed. Mechanic did the work. Fast forward a month and a half (give or take), mechanic calls me up to say friend hasn’t been by to pay or pickup vehicle and hasn’t been answering phone calls. He (mechanic) got my number (presumably) from the DMV, because, as it turns out, the vehicle is still registered in my name (turns out friend neglected to file the registration paperwork with the DMV). So I go pound on friend’s head with a club saying “FIX THIS” and he says it’s getting worked out. I nag him for a week, and it indeed sounds like it’s getting worked out. Fast forward again a few more weeks and it STILL isn’t taken care of - mechanic called me again to let me know I might be receiving paperwork in the mail (lien sale paperwork, I presume). I’m, like, fine - friend paid for the vehicle already, let him deal with it.
Except I just want to know exactly what I would be liable for here. Assuming, of course, that friend still hadn’t managed to get the vehicle registration taken care of and the car is still registered to me. I’ve tried reading the California vehicle code, but it’s confusing as hell. Near as I can tell, if the lien sale manages to net $1150, then I wouldn’t be liable for any expenses incurred beyond that, but I’m not to clear on the verbiage of legalese type stuff.
Could someone please enlighten me a little bit? How much action should I be taking here? No, I don’t particularly care what happens to the truck, and I initially did give a crap whether my friend had a vehicle, but now I’m thinkin’ he’s made his bed and all that. I just don’t want to be stuck owing someone money (on paper) for someone else’s screwup. sigh