Buyer paid for car and vanished?

[toddmcf200299]

Hi domestic sale of an antique.  Money was wired in full days ago but the title remains in my name.  Buyer has vanished.  This is not a scenario I anticipated and the funds have already been committed to other things.  Buyer is not returning calls or texts or at this point asking for a refund.  As far as I'm concerned it's his car.   What should I do?

[legitimate_bidder]

Ah, no..... Not you, Rip!

😉

[ripsmc]

Yep, and it's a hoot to drive.   Instead of the 2.3 Turbo it has a 308 Ford with a Lincoln AOD in it. Underneath the Trans Am shaker scoop are 2 four barrels. Gets 21 MPG on the road; go figure.

On the dyno it hits max torque about 1600 RPM and stays there throughout the RPM range.

[legitimate_bidder]

Oh....THAT kind.....

(Ummm, can I play with it?)

[jr-41ford]

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@ripsmc wrote:

Yep, and it's a hoot to drive.   Instead of the 2.3 Turbo it has a 308 Ford with a Lincoln AOD in it. Underneath the Trans Am shaker scoop are 2 four barrels. Gets 21 MPG on the road; go figure.

On the dyno it hits max torque about 1600 RPM and stays there throughout the RPM range.

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Is that the 340 hp motor? Sounds like what I need in my 35 Ford. I just have the stock 5.0 HO with AOD in it and a set of headers to bump up the hp a little. It has some really nice highway gears in it and gets great fuel milelage. 

I'd like to remove the factor FI system and put on a single FI body to get rid of the clutter. I think Fords factory FI is ugly, too many wires and I'd like to show the engine off when I do shows or just run it without the hood on it. But that is a winter project that may or may not happen.

[toddmcf200299]

I made the owner a half hour worth of video covering everything including a driving stint and tour of the underside.  He certainly shouldn't have any surprises in store.

[legitimate_bidder]

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@toddmcf200299 wrote:

I made the owner a half hour worth of video covering everything including a driving stint and tour of the underside.  He certainly shouldn't have any surprises in store.

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Excellent! You sound like a great and conscientous seller!

[tds-2]

The buyer could be in a nursing home, in jail, dead, went bankrupt, or whatever.

[ripsmc]

That Chevy is a great looking car so he shouldn't have any gripes over it. I remember back when I was in high school in the late 60s a local kid had a '57 black 2 DR HT with F.I. that was immaculate. His parents bought it as a school car for him and gave a whopping 800 bucks. How things change.....

[cepclpi_ecwztwxzvc]

yes i remember the Merkur Scorpio

[p-360]

My 2-cents based on experience:

As far as the state of MA is concerned, the vehicle belongs to whoever's name is either printed on the front of the title BY the RMV, OR whom it was assigned to on the back, SIGNED by BOTH parties. I worked at dealerships for 10 years, and if a customer signed all the contracts, purchase & sale, etc, you could rip them all up if you wanted to as long as the title was NOT signed. They did not own the car in the eyes of the state until the title was completed and conveyed to the state.

The title = the car

I'm sure a lawyer would argue the signed Purchase & Sale Agreement would mean the customer was the owner. But as far as the RMV/DMV is concerned, it's the name on the title.