My old car was in an accident... but I sold it.. Help!?

Question

I sold my car to a guy about 2 and a half months ago, I signed over the title and thought that was it. Today I get a call from the police deparment saying the car was in an accident and it's still registered to me. The officer said the people who were in the accident might call me for my insurance info, which I don't have since I sold the car. What can happen to me? Or what will happen?

I don't have a bill of sale or anything. I just signed the title over to him and that was it. I thought thats all you had to do. And the officer who called told me that the guy didn't get insurance on the car. I don't have his name or number anymore either.

I don't have a bill of sale or anything. I just signed the title over to him and that was it. I thought thats all you had to do. And the officer who called told me that the guy didn't get insurance on the car. I don't have his name or number anymore either. The thing is, is that I took my plate off before I sold it to him also, because I cancelled my insurance.

Answer 1

As long as you have proof as to the date of the sale, there is no problem. The other party is in violation of an open title.

Answer 2

Depending on whether you can find the person you sold the car to, you could be screwed.

How do you know for a fact it was a police officer who called you .... there could be some kind of a scam in the works.

Sometimes government paperwork is slow to be updated ... the buyer may have done the right thing, but the DMV been slow to update its records.

You need to try to contact the new owner, get an update on what's going on.

How did new owner pay you ... cash, check?
If you deposited check in bank, bank can get you a copy of that check.

How did new owner contact you?
You may be able to back track that way.

Sounds like the records of DMV still have you as the owner.
You did not report it stolen.
You have no paperwork identifying the new owner.

They might not believe you sold it 2 months before the accident. They want to see proof that you sold it.

Whoever was driving it, while it was officially still your car, as far as any government records are concerned, must have been driving it with your permission.

So long as you own a car, you share responsibility for what happens with it, with the driver of the car, who is presumed to have been driving it with your permission.

Until you can prove that you sold the car, you can be held financially responsible for the damage and medical expenses incurred from the accident.

Selling the license plate may not have been legal.
The car is registered to you.
The license plate is registered to you.

In some states, the new owner is supposed to get a new license plate, that is issued in their name.

At the time of the accident, the driver was supposed to give out info to the other people, but you were not there, you don't know what the driver did or said.

Answer 3

If you have any proof that you had sold the car, then show that to the insurance/court judge to prove that you sold it and that you dropped the insurance. This will prove that you are not liable. It is the other guy's fault for not changing the title through the DMV, which he will have to pay fines on in addition to whatever damage he caused to the other car involved. If this guy has insurance on the car you sold him, then that should also prove that you had sold him the car. If nothing else, call the guy and ask what the deal is.

Bad thing is, you can be held liable for what this guy has done simply because of the fact that the jerk was lazy and did not re-register the car in his name. If you are held liable, but you can prove you sold the car to him for X amount of money (through written bill of sale, copy of title) then you can more than likely civil sue him for what you had to pay out. You may want to seek the legal advice of a lawyer on this one....since laws vary from state to state and there may another way to do things that I am unaware of.

Also, try to see if you can find out whether or not this guy actually has insurance on this car. The police might have simply called you because you are the last registered owner on DMV record. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Didn't you get a bill of sale when you sold the car. You're suppose to have a bill of sale to present to the buyer which you both sign. You have a copy for yourself and the buyer. Then you contact your local DMV and let them know you have sold the car. That releases you of responsibility of the car. If you don't have the bill of sale, did the buyer write a check? You might need to contact your insurance company and give them heads up on what is happening.

Answer 5

Depending on where you live, you might be screwed. Here in California, the buyer has to register the newly-purchased car promptly. The seller reporting the sale to the DMV is only half of the process. I hope you have good records and the home address of the buyer. If the accident victims go after you, which will happen unless your buyer did the right thing, you will have to go after the buyer in turn. But state laws vary. Find out what the story is where you live. Good luck.

Answer 6

You really should have taken care of this when you sold it, took the plates of etc. You need to take it to court IF you have proof you sold the car, a bill of sale a receipt or anything.

Answer 7

If you retained a copy of the bill of sale, nothing will happen. This happened to a friend, who sold his car. It was later reported abandoned, without registration plates. He was contacted, but had a copy of his bill of sale, and the police then contacted the new owner.

Answer 8

You got the name and address and license number of the person you sold it to, right? If so, give that to the police and the date of sale.

Otherwise just explain it to the police and tell them you sold the car xx months ago and it hasn't been in your possession since. If you weren't driving the car, you're not liable.

Answer 9

If you can prove you sold the car, present the proof to anyone that contacts you about the issue. If you can't, you are in deep ****. You could be forced to take financial responsibility for the accident.