REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

deep87 · 10-29-2010, 12:13 PM

Recently sold my car.
I told the new owner the spare keys would be mailed to her. (keys in surrey, im in vancouver).
Keys get lost in mail.
She now assumes that I will fit the bill for a new set of keys.

Facts:
No email or text saying I would give her spare keys.
She got a quote from Acura for $360 for a new set of keys!

Questions:
Am I responsible for anything here since the car is already signed over?
Is it viable for her to go to small claims court ect.?
Anyone know where to get programmable keys for an 03 Acura for cheap locally?

Jgresch · 10-29-2010, 12:19 PM

did you specify it was a fob key? Why don't you just say it was a remote, just a valet/spare key, then dish out the 10 bucks to have one made....

Soundy · 10-29-2010, 12:35 PM

Or MAYBE, she just SAID she never got the spare, and she wants you to pay for ANOTHER spare?

Fact: she doesn't even have proof that you HAD any spares. For all she can prove, there was only the one key, ever, and she has it.

/thread.

Jgresch · 10-29-2010, 12:41 PM

^pretty much yea, on the other hand, OP could have said they were lost in the mail, but really couldn't find them....

but your point is correct. Nothing is in writing or was recorded anywhere that 2 keys were included. If she takes it to small claims, its her word vs. yours. The judge will want some physical evidence suggesting you owe her a key....

haymura · 10-29-2010, 12:42 PM

my take on this...

unless you specifically told her that you will be including a set of spare keys in the sale, you do not owe her anything. If you just happened to remember that you had a spare set and you gave her the courtesy to inform her and even mailed it to her then it is not your liability that you owe her a spare set. its like saying a dealership made a closing sale on a car and just out of good intentions they want to give the customer a t-shirt but it just happens that there are no more in stock. customer cant hold dealership liable and possibly back out on a sale just cuz there happens to be no size. bottomline, it wasnt part of the deal. you did your part to give her the courtesy to let her know and even mailed the spare set. what happens in between the courier and the buyer is out of your control.

OTG-ZR2 · 10-29-2010, 12:46 PM

30 seconds 30 feet.

If she did'nt take the key with her then its not your problem.

Alphamale · 10-29-2010, 12:57 PM

I'm gonna go ahead and say....

you can't be that bright to mail keys (or to accept that offer). At least not through regular mail....

deep87 · 10-29-2010, 01:55 PM

^haha ya I trusted one of my siblings to mail the keys. Bad idea on my part.
Anyway just told her she should have demanded the keys before transferring ownership.
Thanks for the help /thread

Leopold Stotch · 10-29-2010, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deep87

^haha ya I trusted one of my siblings to mail the keys. Bad idea on my part.
Anyway just told her she should have demanded the keys before transferring ownership.
Thanks for the help /thread

i think he means, if someone notice there were keys going to a certain house that belonged QUITE Likely to the car parked in front of that house someone may want to take a ride with that car.

Stinks · 10-29-2010, 02:32 PM

Why would somebody trust the "postal" system for delivering something that is worth $360??

If you were the recipient of a valuable item, would you specify ship via Canada Post? Mostly likely not.

Roach · 10-29-2010, 02:55 PM

Tell her to buy the replacement key and send you the bill.

When she asks where the payment is, tell her you didn't receive the bill. Must have been lost in the mail.

Kev

Jgresch · 10-29-2010, 03:00 PM

^lol
Posted via RS Mobile

Phil@rise · 10-29-2010, 06:34 PM

tell her to pound sand your not responsible thats why there is theft insurance

asahai69 · 10-29-2010, 07:05 PM

it would be funny if the mailman ended up stealing the car cuz the address and keys are right there.

Soundy · 10-29-2010, 08:35 PM

All other comments aside, it IS PRUDENT that you make sure she have all the keys, just to CYA in case the car disappears on her one day.

That said, if you did ensure IN GOOD FAITH that the key was sent to her, then you've done all you should be required to do.

In other words, you're responsible for not leaving extra keys floating around... but you're not responsible for making sure she has a spare (unless, as others have said, you've promised it as part of the sale).

donjalapeno · 10-29-2010, 08:36 PM

We traded in are 02 TL and i forgot to give my dad the actual acura key fob/remote, so we gave the dealer the key that has a aftermarket remote starter fob and they didnt say anything.

CRS · 10-30-2010, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soltaaa77

We traded in are 02 TL and i forgot to give my dad the actual acura key fob/remote, so we gave the dealer the key that has a aftermarket remote starter fob and they didnt say anything.

How is this at all relevant to anything in this thread?

donjalapeno · 10-30-2010, 10:05 AM

well it was a SPARE KEY....

CRS · 10-30-2010, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soltaaa77

well it was a SPARE KEY....

But you're trading into a dealership and the OP is asking if it is his responsibility to ensure that the buyer gets the spare key even though there was no mention of said spare until OP found it.

If you're saying it related because it talks about spare keys then I guess when you're talking about high performance cars, you can make a comment about Geos because they have four wheels as well an engine.

Super Dipper · 10-31-2010, 10:47 PM

chances are if you sent the keys in a regular letter envelope, they probably got jammed up in one of the processing machines and now they are sitting in a bin with the Revenue Verification Units trying to decipher what the address was on a severely torn to shreads envelope.

if you sent it in a bubble pack or express post, chances are she will eventually get it, its just a matter of time.

sebTeggy · 11-01-2010, 10:19 AM

what a stupid thread

she cant do shit. tell her to gtfo. keys arent more than 10$ and if she is going to sue anyone, it will be the postal service

Soundy · 11-01-2010, 11:16 AM

New keys have chips embedded that the car won't start without. Some also have the alarm/lock remote fob embedded on the key. These can be VERY spendy (about $95 for our Jeep).

bloodmack · 11-01-2010, 01:01 PM

Did she pay for the car or the keys?. In your for sale ad did you ever mention that you had the spare keys?

FYI this thread pretty much screws you over for the whole "I have no documentation of me saying I'd give her the spare keys". Haven't people learned from others past mistakes yet? lol.

UFO · 11-01-2010, 01:18 PM

No you're not legally obligated or responsible since nothing was in writing.

But if you agreed to mail her the keys, and it was your choice to use cheap non-insured mail instead of paying an extra $10 for something more reliable/trackable, the non-douchey thing to do would be to man up and cover her cost for the spare keys that you had agreed to provide her with. If it was just a $5 copy you can make at the mall, then whatever. But at $300 bucks and having to get bent over at the dealership to just get the key, if I was in her shoes and you told me you 'mailed' the key and it got 'lost in the mail', I'd be pretty pissed. Then again, I would have made you sell me the car $300 cheaper, then I'd pay you the final $300 once the keys arrived.

Telling her too bad so sad is pretty low on your part. If she decided to back out at time of transfer because you didn't have the spare keys, I'm sure you would have done everything in your power to get her those keys. You gave her your word you'd get her the keys and she may have been dumb and naive to believe you based just on your word. Now that you have her money, you don't give a rat's ass and just want to cover your own ass.