He’d bought a car on Marketplace for very little, purchased from someone who’d originally acquired it for scrap. The vehicle would crank but wouldn’t actually start when he got it, and he worked through a substantial list of repairs to bring it back to functional condition, including wiring repairs, four new coils, front axles, inner tie rods and sway bar links, four new tires, an alignment, a window switch, a speaker, wipers, an exhaust flex pipe, along with cosmetic paint work and a thorough cleaning. The car had also gone through a clean multipoint inspection at a dealership prior to the sale.
Once repaired, he listed it for sale, and a couple in their 60s came to look at it the next day. He was upfront that he’d never actually driven it on the road himself, since it wasn’t registered, but that it drove well around the yard. They returned the following day with their own mechanic, who inspected the car, called it clean for its age, and confirmed the asking price, in the mid $6,000 range, was fair. The sale ultimately closed in the high $5,000s.
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A Bill of Sale With a Forged Signature He Never Actually Signed
He handed over the keys and the title he’d originally received, which had a blank slot for the assignee. When the buyer asked for a bill of sale, he provided a blank sheet of paper, which the buyer’s husband filled out himself with the year, make, model, VIN, and mileage, notably without including any “as is, where is” language. That same buyer then forged the woman’s signature at the bottom of that document himself, meaning the seller never actually signed anything on the bill of sale at all.
The couple insured the car and drove directly to town hall to register it under their own names that same day, completing a full transfer of ownership through their own actions, using a title and bill of sale they’d generated and executed largely themselves.
A Car That Stopped Starting the Next Morning, and an Escalating Demand
The following morning, the husband called saying the car wouldn’t start at all, no lights, no response whatsoever. He explained he was busy that day and suggested they have the same mechanic who’d already inspected the car come take a look, mentioning he might be able to look at it himself at some point later if the mechanic couldn’t resolve it. Within minutes, a second call came in insisting he needed to come look at the car immediately, followed over the next six to eight hours by more than 15 phone calls and numerous text messages.
Eventually, the couple demanded he bring a trailer to their house, refund their money, and take the car back. He declined, explaining that responsibility for the vehicle transferred to them the moment they took possession, that their own mechanic had already inspected and approved the car, that they’d already driven it home and formally registered it in their own names, and that at this point there was no title left for them to even sign back over to him even if he wanted to reverse the sale.
Threats That Followed the Refusal
In response, he was accused of not being a man of his word and called a scam artist, threatened with being taken to court, warned about being publicly posted about on Facebook, and told they’d show up at his workplace that Monday to speak with his boss, a threat made more pointed by the fact that he’d been wearing a company shirt during their original visit. He’d since spoken with his boss directly, who indicated he wasn’t concerned about the situation.
Why Possession and Registration Matter Significantly Here
Once a buyer takes possession of a private party vehicle sale, inspects it with their own mechanic, drives it away, insures it, and formally registers it in their own name, the transaction has functionally completed in every meaningful legal sense. Private party used car sales are overwhelmingly understood, both legally and by general custom, to transfer as-is once that possession and title transfer occurs, particularly when the buyer had every opportunity to have the vehicle professionally inspected beforehand and did so, receiving a positive assessment from their own chosen mechanic before finalizing the purchase.
The fact that the buyer’s own mechanic inspected and approved the car, and that they proceeded to insure and register it themselves immediately afterward, reinforces that this was a completed, examined transaction rather than one where the buyer was misled about the vehicle’s condition at the point of sale.
Why the Forged Signature Actually Works in His Favor
The detail about the husband forging the wife’s signature on the bill of sale is significant, since it means the seller himself never signed any document making representations about the vehicle’s condition, including any warranty or guarantee beyond what was verbally discussed. Combined with the absence of any “as is” language being the buyer’s own omission, given that the husband was the one who filled out the bill of sale himself, any gaps in that document’s language reflect choices made entirely by the buyer’s side of the transaction, not something the seller failed to properly disclose or protect himself with.
Why the Sales Tax Concern Is a Separate, Smaller Issue
Regarding not having the vehicle titled in his own name and therefore not paying sales tax on his own purchase from the original scrap buyer, that’s a genuinely separate issue from the current dispute over the car’s mechanical failure and the buyer’s demand for a refund. It may represent a technical compliance issue worth addressing with the state’s motor vehicle department directly, but it doesn’t create any legal obligation to refund the buyers or take the car back, since that requirement, if any exists, would be about his own tax compliance rather than about the validity or terms of the sale itself.
Handling the Police Contact
Regarding the police involvement, continuing to exercise caution before speaking with the officer without legal representation present remains a reasonable approach, especially given that state police involvement over what is fundamentally a civil dispute between two private parties over a used car sale is unusual. Politely declining to discuss the specifics until consulting with an attorney is a reasonable and legally sound way to handle any actual follow up contact, regardless of whether the call ends up being routine or something more consequential. Given the complexity here, particularly the forged signature and the completed registration transfer, a brief consultation with an attorney familiar with Maine consumer and vehicle sale law would likely provide much clearer guidance on both the police contact and any potential small claims action the buyers might actually attempt to pursue.
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