Is your license plate number on this list? If you value your time, you should only wrap up private party sale at the DMV (Portland: 2013, crime)

[TechmanOR]

Here's my 2 cents. If you value your time, the only place you should complete a private party vehicle vehicle sale is inside the DMV office. You should price and negotiate the car with $77 fee factored in, so you can pay the buyer's title fee in case they refuse or say they don't have it.

I bought my car in 2012. I stumbled across this story on KATU news, which discusses unpaid citations and there's a huge list of license plate numbers with towing warrants. I never got any ticket.

Portland owed millions in unpaid parking tickets | KATU Investigators | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports, Traffic Weather and Breaking News - Portland, Oregon

The news is from February 2013, so WTF, why is my plate number on there?! I never got any tickets that I'm aware of.

So, it had me wondering if I got a parking ticket and didn't know it because the ticket blew off or something.

I called Multnomah county circuit court. I was told all the citations were from 2011, which is before I bought the car. The outstanding amount is to the tune of $2,500 ; more than this car is worth! I asked why my plate is still on there and clerk says that offending plate number stays in the system indefinitely until the offender(s) (in this case, the previous owner(s)) pay it off. They said that liability goes with the owner of the title at the time of offense, so I'm free and clear.

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When you sell your car, you complete a bill of sale and report it to DMV. However... the vehicle stays in YOUR name until the buyer actually titles it in their name, as this person learned the hard way and there's really nothing you can do to remove your name from the car without that person actually registering it.

Hillsboro woman sells car, now receives bills from toll booths in Denver | OregonLive.com

So if the new owner doesn't register it and rack up tickets, you'll hear about it and you're still legally liable for addressing the concerns even though you don't have to pay for their tickets.

Parking - Sold/Transferred Vehicles

The system is messed up. They DMV should follow-up with the new owner once the seller reports the sale to DMV, then followup with the seller if the buyer fails to title it in their name after 30-days and remove the sellers name from the vehicle after providing additional documentation.

So, for now, there's only one thing you can do to ensure you don't get followed around for crime and violations that the car you sold maybe invovled in. Have the buyer have the payment in cash or cashier's check purchased in your witness. Have the buyer fill out transfer of title form and don't seal the deal and hold off signing the bill of sale until you're at the DMV counter.

If the buyer doesn't have the title fee, you pay for it($77), because you included this in the sale price.

[Steve Pickering]

Take it to court. If you did not own the vehicle during the time the tickets were issued, you can not be held liable. Don't knuckle under just for convinience. Fight it. Buyer or Seller.

[TechmanOR]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

Take it to court. If you did not own the vehicle during the time the tickets were issued, you can not be held liable. Don't knuckle under just for convinience. Fight it. Buyer or Seller.

I didn't get ordered to pay anything. I called just to figure out why my plate number was even on that list; and I was told I'm fine, because it didn't occur during my titleship.

In any case, you don't want to hear anything on the news about "a vehicle registered to (your name), was found at scene of crime" and the like for something that might happen with the car after you sell it. I believe what I suggested is really the only thing you can do to protect yourself from all kinds of BS.

[Steve Pickering]

I didn't say you did. You were advising others in the same boat. So was I. The judge will enter a writ ordering it removed.

[PNW-type-gal]

We once got a hefty bill from the state of Washington for 50' of guardrail. We sold a 65 Mustang to a man who gave it to his daughter for her 16th birthday, they didn't re-register the vehicle in her (or his) name and she'd had it for about 3 weeks when she crashed it on I-5, north of Vancouver somewhere, going about 80 and took out the guardrail.

I think the bill was for somewhere around $30,000. Of course we didn't pay it and straightened it all out (the bill, not the guardrail), as we'd filed OUR end of all the paperwork.

[Steve Pickering]

A good reason for sending in the registration with the part filled in on the sale is the number of illegal residents who buy vehicles with a lot of time left on the stickers so they do not need to register them.

[TechmanOR]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

I didn't say you did. You were advising others in the same boat. So was I. The judge will enter a writ ordering it removed.

It still won't prevent you from receiving notices in mail about the violations the car is involved in, like toll violation in other states. You would still have to follow-up to these time wasting matters to protect your credit score.

[Steve Pickering]

Yes, you will need to take some of your time to set it right.

[TechmanOR]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

A good reason for sending in the registration with the part filled in on the sale is the number of illegal residents who buy vehicles with a lot of time left on the stickers so they do not need to register them.

You can weed out these buyers by telling them on the phone that you will only deal with the buyer named and that it will happen at the DMV.

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

Yes, you will need to take some of your time to set it right.

Therefore, you essentially experience the impact of getting fined for the new owners violation. Time is money.

[TechmanOR]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

We once got a hefty bill from the state of Washington for 50' of guardrail. We sold a 65 Mustang to a man who gave it to his daughter for her 16th birthday, they didn't re-register the vehicle in her (or his) name and she'd had it for about 3 weeks when she crashed it on I-5, north of Vancouver somewhere, going about 80 and took out the guardrail.

I think the bill was for somewhere around $30,000. Of course we didn't pay it and straightened it all out (the bill, not the guardrail), as we'd filed OUR end of all the paperwork.

What would've happened if you moved since and the registration was still with the old address, or that you received your notice while you're on a long vacation?

They'll send it to collections assuming its your car; then you'll have to deal with huge hassles to repair your credit.