This is why I can't have nice things

[Miss Coffin Nails]

So, about 5 weeks ago I bought a van from the GM at work for $850. It had been sitting for a while so we expected minor repairs and he said he would help me out with some money if there was anything serious. The day we bought it, it wouldn't go into reverse. I drove it from his place to mine (in the downtown area so my husband had to push it to parallel park).

Over the next few times I moved it to park it got worse and worse and eventually wouldn't go into drive. 3 mechanics told me that a transmission replacement was needed, a more expensive fix than I paid for it. It was parked illegally because I couldn't move it, and I talked to him 2 weeks ago about canceling the sale. He said that he would have to talk to his wife, but that would probably be what happened.

Now, of course, the van got towed! I'm meeting with him later to try to get my money back, but I might just have to find a new job. But when hr hears about it, he might too. Way to steal $850 from an employee, jerk.

[Raincloak]

Bummer.  That is unfortunate.  Count yourself lucky you didn't have an accident, bad transmissions are serious.  It is possible (not certain) that changing the transmission fluid would fix the problem, but if a mechanic has actually seen it, and he says it needs to be replaced, he's probably right.

 

Fwiw (not a lawyer, so this is not legal advice, but have worked in law for years and learned a few things), here's my take:

 

First, keep your cool or the seller isn't likely to cooperate, and he is your best chance of getting a refund or compromise, so play nice.  If he won't take back the van for a refund, see if he'll help pay for the new transmission or refund a lesser amount (if the van turned out to be a pile of scrap worth $200, he may owe you $650).

 

Second, I hope you got the terms of the sale in writing, including any conditions such as "if it turns out to have a serious problem."  If you did get it in writing and it is signed, it's legally enforceable.  Simply showing him a copy of the contract may be enough to get him to comply.  You could try your luck in small claims court, but I wouldn't except as a last resort.  People can get really irrational when you threaten to sue them.  Also look up "[state] lemon law" for advice about what to do when you bought a lemon.  In the future, never finalize the sale of a used car until it's been inspected by an independent mechanic.  It'll cost an extra $100, but it's worth it.

 

Third, regardless of who is responsible for the bad transmission, the van getting impounded is pretty clearly the responsibility of the vehicle's owner.  Particularly since you are the one who took it to that place and left it there.  If you own it, you're liable for anything it does.  (btw, this is also why you are required to buy auto insurance; if your van had caused an accident, you'd be on the hook for the damage, regardless of who was driving it.  Unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover parking infractions.)  You should have called a tow truck and gotten the van moved yourself immediately when it broke down, and then discussed with the seller who should pay the tow bill.  You can't just leave your property there blocking traffic for weeks at a time.  Sorry.

 

Fourth, unless you're in a small company or the company was somehow involved in the sale (eg, the van he sold you belonged to the company), I don't think HR is going to help you.  Private deals between employees are none of their concern.  You might express to them that you don't want to work under this manager any more, but I doubt they'd fire him on your word.  Certainly you should not "threaten" to tell the company about this mess, it's not going to impress the seller or get him to do what you want.

 

As for the van's ultimate fate... $850 is pretty cheap for a vehicle, although it's not a super bargain for one that doesn't run.  If you sunk in $1150 on a replacement transmission, and IF nothing else is wrong with it, you'd get a working van for $2k, which is a bargain.  But I'd be really, really sure that the van is going to last a couple years and that nothing else is about to break, before you sink that kind of money into it.  You might be better off scrapping the van and saving up $6k or so for a vehicle that's got a few years of life left.

[Miss Coffin Nails]

The issue is that we haven't completed the sale. I have a temporary title, so in 20 days regardless of where the van is he will be the owner. And when I say parked illegally, what I should say is that it was in a spot for more than 72 hours because pushing it wasn't feasible. I guess I have to say this, I make less than 15,000 a year, and $850 is one months rent. If my boss is OK with taking that money for a broken vehicle, there is no way that I can work for someone like that. And we are a small company that wouldn't be happy with how the transaction went.

[Raincloak]

well, I dunno about that temporary sale thing. Ask a lawyer how that works.

The easiest solution for you would be to revoke the sale and get a refund, but I still think you're going to have to cough up the impound fee as a compromise if you want the seller to agree to take the van back. He isn't likely to want to pay for that impound, since you're the one who left the van someplace it did not belong. Technically, if ownership really does revert to him, you could let the clock run out and just leave him to deal with it, but then you probably won't get your money back. He'll still have your money and he'll once again own the van, too. And by the way, the city probably charges by the day to store impounded vehicles, so the longer you wait to redeem it, the more it'll cost. If you wait too long, the city will sell or destroy the van and it's gone for good.

About your income: I hate to tell you this, but it's not the seller's fault you're broke. If all you could pay was a month's rent, you weren't ready to buy a vehicle. Not only does a working vehicle cost several months of savings (plus a loan, in many cases), it also costs $100/month for insurance and maintenance for as long as you own it. (I bought my car a year after I got my first decent-paying job, and shortly afterward, I lost said job. Good thing I saved up and didn't take out a loan.)

Yeah, the guy should have told you the transmission was shot, but maybe he didn't know. He may have thought he was doing you a favor selling it so cheap. Either way, you could have deduced from the low price and the shifting problem that the van was faulty. I wouldn't exactly assume he cheated you on purpose. And he did say he'd help out if it needed repair, so why not ask him about that?

if it's a small company, maybe you could talk to HR about it, IF you try resolving it with the seller and fail. I advise you not to call him a cheater or engage in any ad hominem attacks. How'd your meeting with him yesterday go?

[Miss Coffin Nails]

The problem is that he literally avoid confrontation. I let him know the first day I had it that it wasn't working right, and instead of meeting the agreement for him to pay me back on repairs he spent the money, wouldn't respond to my texts and avoided me at work.

We came to some sort of compromise when we meet that he would give me half back, but that was before we discovered that he is still the legal owner. We'll see from here, there are some details that I haven't mentioned- he wouldn't let me test drive it (because it had out-of-state expired plates). He also took the keys back for a week to get it looked at himself and then have them back saying he didn't have time to deal with it. He had an opportunity to resolve the situation and spent the money he promised to contribute to repairs.

[Raincloak]

The problem is that he literally avoid confrontation. I let him know the first day I had it that it wasn't working right, and instead of meeting the agreement for him to pay me back on repairs he spent the money, wouldn't respond to my texts and avoided me at work.

We came to some sort of compromise when we meet that he would give me half back, but that was before we discovered that he is still the legal owner. We'll see from here, there are some details that I haven't mentioned- he wouldn't let me test drive it (because it had out-of-state expired plates). He also took the keys back for a week to get it looked at himself and then have them back saying he didn't have time to deal with it. He had an opportunity to resolve the situation and spent the money he promised to contribute to repairs.

Let me see if I have this so far: you bought a vehicle knowing it had bad plates, no clear title, and he wouldn't let you test it before purchase. I'm betting you didn't check the VIN history. You noticed a major mechanical defect the first time you drove the vehicle, and continued to drive it. You noticed he was avoiding you after the sale. Then you gave him the keys back without a dime or a pledge. Then you abandoned the vehicle when it broke down. And you know the title reverts to him if he continues to stall, which he is evidently doing.

did I get that right?

if it makes you feel any better, I'd say you got off lightly, considering how many red flags you ignored. You could have been ticketed for the expired plates. You could have been in an accident caused by transmission failure. You could have given the guy $8000 instead of $800. This is bad, but I've seen much worse.

If you paid by check or credit card, contact your bank and dispute the charge immediately. If you paid in cash, that money's probably gone, though you still have some chance to resolve this.

It's probably time to call your state fraud reporting agency. I'd be willing to bet the guy has committed the same behavior before, and if he hasn't, it should go on the record now. You need expert advice anyway. Use that google you should have started using a long time ago and start making some calls. And start keeping a diary and copies of all related documents in this saga. I would do this now, because deadlines are ticking.

You could report it to HR (document thoroughly if you do), but you really ought to think that one over and consult a lawyer first. The guy is your manager and if he finds out you tattled, he may take "adverse action" to you at work. Then if he punishes or fires you, you have to sue the company, which is expensive and a huge pain.

you may be right about getting a new job, though. Might want to start looking, since the holidays are coming and companies are hiring.