Download Vehicle Sale Letter
Donnie Ehlen
Thousands and thousands of vehicles are sold in Missouri every year. As a seller, there are certain things you should know before you enter into the sale of a vehicle. When a transaction occurs between two private parties, there are certain legal responsibilities and a reporting requirement that became effective in 2006.
Remember: All sellers and purchasers must print their names and sign the back of the title in the assignment area. These signatures do not need to be notarized. The seller must write in the odometer reading and date of sale. You may not use correction fluid (white-out) or erase marks from the title.
Effective January 1, 2006, the seller of a motor vehicle, trailer, or all-terrain vehicle must report the sale within 30 days to the Department. Sellers, other than Missouri licensed dealers, must submit a completed Notice of Sale (Form 5049) or Bill of Sale (Form 1957) form to report the sale. Click here for more information about reporting the sale of your vehicle.
As the title says. Carmax said they would submit all the paper work for the sale to the dmv so why am I getting thisblien notice? That would mean the car is still registered under my name. Not sure what to do about this.
House No. 6504 ("An Act Further Regulating the Sale and Repair of New Motor Vehicles") would require motor vehicle manufacturers to replace a new motor vehicle, or refund the contract price to the purchaser, if the vehicle does not conform to applicable warranties after reasonable attempts have been made to repair it. You inquire whether the Commissioner of Revenue is required to return the sales tax paid on a new motor vehicle sale, where the vehicle is subsequently replaced or a refund of the contract price is made.
House No. 6504 does not call for any additional payment to be made by a purchaser to a manufacturer as consideration for replacing a vehicle. Where a refund of the contract price is made under the bill, the amount of the refund would be determined by subtracting from the full contract price a reasonable allowance for use. This allowance would be calculated by multiplying the total contract price by a fraction having as its denominator 100,000 and its numerator the number of miles that the vehicle travelled prior to the manufacturer's acceptance of its return.
The "sales price" of property on which the Massachusetts sales tax is based is defined as "the total amount paid by a purchaser to a vendor as consideration for a retail sale, valued in money or otherwise" (G.L. c. 64H, 1(14)). General Laws Chapter 64H, Section 1(14)(c)(ii) states that the sales price does not include the amount charged for property returned by purchasers to vendors upon rescission of contracts of sale, when the entire amounts charged therefor are refunded either in cash or credit, and the property is returned within 90 days from the date of sale.
Where a trade-in of a motor vehicle is received by a motor vehicle dealer who is a registered vendor, the sales tax is imposed only on the difference between the sales price of the motor vehicle purchased and the amount of the trade-in allowance (G.L. c. 64H, 26).
1. Where a motor vehicle is replaced for no additional consideration, and the seller treats the replacement as a trade-in of the returned vehicle on the sale of the replacement vehicle, the purchaser is not entitled to an abatement of the tax paid on the sale of the returned vehicle, but no sales tax is due on the registration of the replacement vehicle.
2. Where a motor vehicle is replaced for no additional consideration, and the seller treats the replacement as a rescission of the sale of the returned vehicle, the purchaser is entitled to an abatement of the tax paid on the sale of the returned vehicle only if the vehicle is finally returned within 90 days from the date of its sale. In this case the purchaser must pay the sales tax on registering the replacement vehicle, whether or not the first vehicle was returned within 90 days; the sales tax is imposed on the entire sales price of the replacement vehicle, with no deduction for a trade-in allowance.
3. Where a manufacturer refunds the contract price of a motor vehicle, the purchaser is entitled to an abatement of the tax paid only if the manufacturer refunds the entire amount charged (with no allowance for the purchaser's use of the vehicle) and the vehicle is finally returned within 90 days from the date of sale.
Note: If a Georgia title has not been issued for the vehicle and the inheritor is not a legal resident of Georgia, the inheritor must obtain a title in their name first from their home state before selling or transferring the ownership of the vehicle to a Georgia resident.
Honorable John Vance
District Attorney
Government Center
600 Commerce Street
Dallas, Texas 75202Letter Opinion No. 89-006 Dear Mr. Vance: Article 6686-1, section 2(a), V.T.C.S., provides that "[n]operson may, on both the consecutive days of Saturday and Sunday,sell or offer for sale, or compel the person's employees to sellor offer for sale, a motor vehicle." Each day a motor vehicle issold or offered for sale is a separate violation of the act.V.T.C.S. art. 6686-1, s 2(b). You ask several questionsconcerning the applicability of the statute to the operations ofa particular business entity which proposes to assist privatepersons in the sale of their motor vehicles and boats. Your letter describes the business as follows: 'Park and Sell,' an assumed name of Tri-State Theaters, aTexas limited partnership, has opened a parking lot at 11990North Central Expressway, Dallas, Texas. Persons wishing to sellautomobiles, trucks, boats, motor homes, motorcycles, etc.('Sellers') may rent a parking space for a fixed number of daysat a fixed price and may place their vehicle in an assignedlocation on the 'Park and Sell' lot. 'Park and Sell' will onlyaccept vehicles from Sellers who are not 'dealers' as defined inthe statutes for the State of Texas. The Seller will place theirphone number on the vehicle, lock the vehicle and leave thepremises. 'Park and Sell' will have its parking lot open to thepublic each day and prospective buyers can walk through the lotand if they find a vehicle which interests them they may use oneof the pay phones on site to call the Seller to arrange to testdrive the vehicle, etc. 'Park and Sell' will not have salesmenon site, will not price vehicles nor will any of the 'Park andSell' employees quote prices. If a vehicle is sold, 'Park andSell' will not receive any commission or other proceeds of thesales price. Sellers rent a parking space only and 'Park andSell' receives no other compensation from Sellers or buyers.'Park and Sell' will have a notary public on site who willnotarize signatures on transfer documents but will not beinvolved in preparing or filling out the forms. At the outset we caution that the opinion process of thisoffice is designed to furnish legal opinions based upon concisequestions of law or a stated set of facts. By its nature, thisprocess cannot resolve factual disputes. Thus, a recitation offacts in an opinion of the Attorney General is not an affirmationof their accuracy, but merely a recital of the basis upon whichthe legal opinion is offered. This caveat is especiallyappropriate in this instance since, following your request forthis opinion, we received a copy of a letter sent to your officeby an attorney representing "Park and Sell" advising that thebusiness would be reevaluated and perhaps restructured. Youroffice, nevertheless, has asked that we render an opinion basedon the original statement of facts.A. Your first question is whether "Park and Sell" is a "person"within the meaning of article 6686-1, section 1(2). "Person" isdefined in section 1(2) as "a natural person, firm, partnership,corporation, or other legal entity." The express mention ofpartnerships in the definition should not be taken as anexclusion of limited partnerships. See generally V.T.C.S. art.6132b, s 6(2) (Texas Uniform Partnership Act applies to limitedpartnerships except where inconsistent with laws relating tolimited partnerships); First Nat'l Bank of Brownwood v.Chambers, 398 S.W.2d 313 (Tex.Civ.App.--Eastland 1965, no writ)(a partnership may be general or limited). Thus, the limitedpartnership doing business as "Park and Sell" is a "person" forthe purposes of article 6686-1.B. You next ask whether "Park and Sell" is an "employer" withinthe meaning of article 6686-1, section 1(3), which provides thefollowing: 'Employer' means a person who owns a facility that sells oroffers for sale motor vehicles or a person who has the authorityto determine the hours of operation of such facility.In connection with this question you ask whether, under theoriginal description of the business, the "Park and Sell" lot is"a facility that sells or offers for sale motor vehicles" andwhether "Park and Sell" is "a person who has the authority todetermine the hours of operation" of such a facility. The significance of finding that "Park and Sell" is an"employer" is to make it a necessary party to any action broughtagainst an employee alleging a violation of the act and to makeit strictly liable to pay all sums resulting from a violation ofthe act by its employee. V.T.C.S. art. 6686-1, s 4(d). It alsopermits the trier of fact to hold "Park and Sell" directly liablefor a violation of the act if it finds that "Park and Sell"compelled its employees to sell motor vehicles or offer motorvehicles for sale on consecutive Saturdays and Sundays. Id. s2(a). We conclude that "Park and Sell," as described in your letter,is not an "employer" for the purposes of article 6686-1. Thoughthe statute does not define the terms "sell" or "offer for sale,"the prohibition contained in section 2(a) of article 6686-1 canonly be directed at persons with the power to transfer title to amotor vehicle by sale. Cf. Bus. & Com.Code ss 2.103(a)(4)("seller" means a person who sells or contracts to sell goods);2.106(a) ("sale" is the passing of title from the seller to thebuyer for a price). Under your description, "Park and Sell" willnot be authorized to conduct sales of motor vehicles parked onits premises. Its relationship with the renters of its parkingspaces cannot be characterized as an employment relationship."Park and Sell" will not participate in the offering of suchvehicles for sale other than to provide a location whereprospective buyers may view vehicles offered for sale by personsnot subject to regulation as motor vehicle dealers under statelaw. Presumably, these sales will not be prohibited by article6686-1, since they are likely to be conducted by persons notengaged in a business that includes the sale of motor vehicles.V.T.C.S. art. 6686-1, s 3. Because "Park and Sell" does not havethe power to sell vehicles, its parking lot is not a "facilitythat sells or offers for sale motor vehicles." Since the "Parkand Sell" lot is not a facility that sells motor vehicles oroffers motor vehicles for sale, "Park and Sell" is not a "personwho has the authority to determine the hours of operation" ofsuch a facility. Therefore, "Park and Sell" is not an "employer"for the purposes of article 6686-1.C. You also ask whether the business activity of "Park and Sell,"as originally described in your letter, constitutes a "sale" oran "offer for sale" of motor vehicles within the contemplation ofarticle 6686-1. Your description makes it clear that "Park andSell" does not sell the motor vehicles parked on its lot or offersuch vehicles for sale. The relationship between "Park and Sell"and its clients is like that between the landlord of a shoppingcenter and its tenants or, more appropriately, between the ownerof a flea market and its vendors. The mere renting of space onwhich sales may be conducted does not make the owner of therented space a salesman or establish privity between the ownerand the buyer of merchandise sold at the rented space.D. Your final question is whether "Park and Sell" proposes tooperate a business contrary to any of the prohibitions containedin article 6686-1. It is apparent from the foregoing discussionthat the "Park and Sell" proposal does not violate the expressprovisions of article 6686-1. Your question, therefore, may beanswered in the negative.
- Very truly yours,Rick Gilpin
Chairman
Opinion CommitteeSarah Woelk
Chief
Letter Opinion SectionPrepared bySteven AragonApproved:Opinion Committee