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Ebays approach on curbstoners

What is Ebays official stand on sellers flipping cars on open titles ie curbstoning.

 

Example.

 

Seller A has a car on Ebay. When asked about title it is in person B's name. Seller A has no intention to transfer title into his own name,but to pass title along with car.

Bill of sale will now not match title,nor will the buyer be able to resolve any potential title issues with seller as the vehicle never was legally transfered into his name.

If title is rejected by DMV seller cannot get a duplicate as it was never in his name. If legal owner is un cooperative or unable to find buyer has a vehicle he is unable to register

 

Not to mention curbstoning is illegal in most states

 

Above is not applicable on licenced dealers who ofcourse can re-assign a title.

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Ebays approach on curbstoners

I would assume Ebay has no official position,as they are only a listing venue, much like CL or your local newspaper.The issue is what do you want to do?....Most people want a clear paper trail as to ownership.Worse scenario, the seller never paid the other person in full, or he bounced a check, or he is avoiding paying sales tax on the car.Others willl say ,its no big deal....I can say if the car you are considering is a far away purchase and you dont go see it in person, chances are you will regret buying it, and MAY have a titleing  problem.....If you dont trust the seller, just find another one, as there is always a twin to it somewhere.Good luck!

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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Anonymous
Not applicable

Years ago I had a good friend purchase a motorcycle from a flipper with bills of sales (plural), old out dated registrations, etc. but no pink slip or real current title. Bike was in beautiful, like new condition but the tags on the plate were very old and expired. He bought it and took all the paperwork down to the DMV.

Came up with a leinholder on the title. Bank was never fully paid off by one of the previous owners. The balance owed was alot and the big name bank wasn't going to let it go. They sent repo guys over and they picked it up right before our eyes.  In less than a few weeks he lost "his" bike and his cash. - 96

Message 3 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

When I see this, I file a report with that state's department of revenue, fraud unit.  What they are doing is illegal since they are avoiding the sales tax.

 

I just reported one here where the guy says that his hobby is to fix up old Volvos.  Interestingly, he produced a title application but the declared sales price was $100 which is not correct.  He admitted in writing that the sales price was falsified to lower the taxes.  This same person quotes scripture in his e-mail trailer.

 

I sent a report to the Alabama Department of Revenue.  You should report same in the state where the vehicle is for sale.

Message 4 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

I no longer have any issue with curbstoners or people that put a lower purchase amount on the bill of sale. This state gets too carried away with collecting fees everytime a vehicle is sold and we can thank our governor for that.

 

As for the purchase amount, it makes absolutely no different what amount is put on the bill of sale, the county licensing department looks up the value of a used vehicle in a 3 year old car guide magazine that lists the values of a vehicle that the buyer rates, off the rack at Barnes & Noble. I'm not kidding.

 

First, the buyer is given the magazine the page, which has the guide with explaination, then the price range for the rating.  If the price you paid is within that amount, easy amount to figure then pay your sales tax. If you paid more than the stated value, you will pay the higher amount. If you paid less, you will still pay tax on the stated price from the magazine. If you complain, they send you to a tax appraiser and it's guaranteed you will pay a higher price.

 

The values are not right as the classic car market is a little soft, but one gets to rate the condition of their own vehicle, sight unseen to the clerk. Weirdest thing I have ever seen, that they just implemented last year.

 

 

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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Anonymous
Not applicable
They do the same thing now in Arkansas. Old Cars Report Price Guide.
Message 6 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Not just that, JR, but I'm tired of hearing the "Oooo! The state is getting cheated out of the sales tax when it's sold that way"......

 

But meanwhile, a dealer can transfer that car 10 times without having a taxable event; and why should their be a significant tax of a large percentage of an item's value just because it changes hands? If it's a road-use tax, fine (as if we're not already paying for that anyway with 1000 other taxes) but even it was a road use tax, if someone just buys the car and flips it, they aren't using the road; and why does someone who uses the road with a $40K car and who may drive 5K miles a year have to pay more than someone who uses the road with a $1K car and drives the same or maybe even significantly more mileage?

 

Screw the state! They get enough from us as it is. We have the constitutional right to enter into contracts and to buy and sell....who made them a silent partner to every transaction?

 

I'm for anything which cuts the state out- be it to save me money or for civil disobedience or whatever. There are plenty of dishonest sleazy curbstoners out there...and there are plenty of bad, dishonest, sleazy licensed dealers too- and the latter can get away with a lot more because of that license.

Message 7 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

If a vehicle is sold 5 times, there is sales tax on it five times. A few years back, legislators wanted the vehicles taxed one time when it was new and that's it. A certain political party that is known for "tax and spend" didn't like that, it would take away tax dollars for their COLAs and said no, governor vetoed it.

 

I can drive 30 miles to Oregon, title and register it with no tax, then 6months later title it in WA state with no tax, just the transfer fees. I do have an Oregon address to do it, but these days I do not do enough cars to concern myself with it.  

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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Anonymous
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LB - "who made them a silent partner...."  Well, they did themselves. They also vote themselves big fat raises too (despite poor performance on the job). I'm in Cali BTW. Where they tax everything to death to maintain monthly income for the folks that support that one political party that JR mentions. - 96.

Message 9 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Tell me about it Hog and JR...I lived in NY for 39 years! (New York is an Indian word meaning "East-coast version of Cali")

 

This says it all:

Message 10 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Anonymous
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Darn it LB!!! Now I gotta go out in the shop and work on something and shake all the facts of life off again. I'm thinking flathead.....flathead.....@#!*%$ %#@&!! IRS @%$#!!.....whew....flathead....out to the garage....flathead..... -96

Message 11 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Flatheads? I can say after 39 years of owning Ford flathead V8's, no more as of 2 months ago. I only have a inline 4 cylinder Ford flathead in the stable. A whopping 200 cid and 40 horses complete with babbit bearings.

 

sunglasses

Message 12 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Anonymous
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    Awesome...I love Ford 4 cylinders. I play with the Harley Davidson variety. 45 cubic inches and 25 horsepower. I see a lot of folks scratching their head and saying "why all the trouble and expense for so little horsepower?' " A stock Kia is gonna blow you away" etc., etc. But for me it's not about ultimate performance out of every vehicle I own. When I'm working on old stuff it takes me to a completely different time and place. I love how they did things back in the flathead era. The designs, the learning and changing. The fact that the men and women who made and machined the parts put their hands on these bits and now are most likely passed on. A real appreciation. I often blurt out loud "if it was good enough for grandpa, it's good enough for me" or "I was born 50 years to late".

   So JR now you got me thinking. I got this '23T in the backyard. Original Black paint. White Balloons on wooden wheels. Stock 4 banger. But a local bud is really into the T's and 4 cylinders and has a bunch of Riley and Crager stuff.  Hmmmm. And so it goes. The problems of "today" seem less important now. - 96

Message 13 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

@Anonymous& @jr-41ford

 

Man, you guys got right! Today's cars may have the horsepower of a lcomotive, or be able to wring every last drop of HP out a cubic incbh on a 4 cyclinder injun with dual turbo chargers.....but to drive them is almost like virtual reality, as one encased in such an artificial environment, surrounded by bells and whistles and lights, that there is no longer any real connection with the road; and there's so much carp on these cars to go wrong (and stuff that is not easily or economically fixed- especially once they stop making the circuit board or supporting the software) that these new cars will not be economically feasible to drive in 10 years....and won't even be viable in 20 or 30- much less even still exist then- never mind 75 or 80 years!

 

And nobody will care, because, unlike those good old cars which represented things that were made to last, and represented brilliant and efficient design principles; and which allowed you to interect with the road and breathe in the air....these new cars represent an absurd time, where Uncle forces the manufacturers to install airbags which may kill you, and all sorts of distracting gizmos and features; and where automakers have the audacity to design vehicles which require that the entire cab of the pick-up truck be removed to change the turbo, or the engine be removed to change an oil pan gasket.

Message 14 of 25
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Ebays approach on curbstoners

Anonymous
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Or the starter in the valley under the intake manifold? Who dreams up this %@%#!! Yea...pull the entire cab to work on a turbo..... I think today's engineers are the absolute worst. They have it so good...the best software, the best machines, yet they come up with the dumbest carp. - 96.

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