What would you do in the car selling situation?

In My Humble Opinion
1

About a month ago, my car, which has 108,000 miles on it, stopped running. Turns out it was the transmission. I took it to Aamco, and, in the end, I decided that it would cost more to put in a rebuilt transmission than the car was worth. So I decided to sell it as-is, and get whatever I could.

I called the mechanic shop at the dealership, and found a guy who works there who was willing to buy it to fix up and resell. I owe Aamco $450, and that’s what the guy (we’ll call him Mr. A) offered me. So, not having many other options, I told him I’d sell it for $450. This was about two weeks ago, all over the phone. I’ve never met the guy, and nothing was sign, no money changed hands. Just a few phone conversations.

Today I got a call from a mechanic (Mr. B) at Aamco, who needs a car to drive. He asked if I was selling it. I told him I am, told him that I had a guy who had offered me something for it. Mr. B asked how much I wanted, and I said I’d want at least $500. So he said he’d give me $500 in cash as soon as Monday. I told him that I’d talk to Mr. A, since we already had a deal, and see if he can match. I talked to Mr. A, who, though he didn’t sound thrilled, said he could probably match Mr. B’s offer, and he’d let me know on Monday.

The possible scenarios, it seems, are:

  1. Mr. A says he’ll give me the $500, and I tell Mr. B he’s out of luck
  2. Mr. A says he’s not interested in that price, and I sell to Mr. B
  3. Mr. A says he’ll give me the $500, and Mr. B says he’ll give me more, maybe $600 or $700

What would you do in scenario 3? I already feel a bit guilty for having told Mr. A that $450 was fine, then telling him two weeks later that I have another higher offer. I don’t want to make them get into some kind of bidding war, but I would like to get the highest price I can get (but I’m not hurting for money if I only get $50 profit in the deal after paying Aamco). Is it unethical for me Monday to tell Mr. A that $500 was Friday’s price, now it’s up to $600? Even more important, am I breaking some kind of verbal contract law?

Anyway, what would you do if you were in this situation?

2

If it was me I would give Mr. A a time limit on when you need the money and if he cannot make it then offer it to Mr. B. That’s the way I would like to be treated in a similar situation.