Dual ownership

My thoughts as an impartial layman in another country:

Hopefully the Dual Ownership Agreement (DOA) is documented on paper and signed by both parties and also covers the shared maintenance expenses. Raises the question of whether the sale can possibly be rescinded under the DOA if that issue was addressed. Also sounds like the daughter still needs to settle up with you over the maintenance expenses since the two parties are out of balance. This is probably a case for someone familiar with British Law. Good luck to you in your pursuit of this matter.

 

Our opinion does not matter. What matters is what is in your contract, and what your local courts have to say. What do you want in compensation? Would it cost you more to get that in attorney and court fees?

 

V5C. THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT PROOF OF OWNERSHIP.

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Well I have no idea of the applicable laws in the UK. So my immediate thought is for you to consult a local attorney to see if you have any recourse.

From reading your post my gut feeling is the dealer took advantage of your friend's daughter. And he may have taken advantage on the other car you believe he sold.

 

Yeah I think the dealer played you.

Personally...chalk it up to a learning experience and walk away knowing you were the primary enjoyer of the car (as you said 90-95% of the time) for half the upfront cost of buying it.

It is what it is. Sorry to hear your friend you shared the car with isn't around anymore as I'm sure it would've went smoother with him.

 

Can I offer a different perspective: your car is sold and you have the money in the bank albeit maybe a bit less than you hoped for

Right now selling classics is very difficult - maybe they took the first offer maybe they took the only offer

This feels like an emotional issue rather than a financial one - how realistic was your minimum figure and yes you should have been consulted but no the law won't help you feel better or decide if the extra ten grand each was ever possible

 

stating the obvious, I don't know the UK law and we are missing large chunks of needed information from you in any event if this were to be a legal response. But, of course, it is a query on a car enthusiast website, was not asked as a legal advice request...said simply, this is plainly not a legal advice request. So not sure why everyone is so focused on disclaiming their legal knowledge. Anyways...

Legally did they need to clear a sale with you? Sounds highly unlikely based on the little we know here.

As a matter or courtesy should the dealer have checked with you? Meh. Not really imho (they should not have to "herd the cats" to sell the car, they should have had one person as a point-of-contact/responsible party, and it sounds like they did. How that person deals with any "co-owners" is not their responsibility.

As a matter of courtesy (at min) should the co-owner have checked with you? Damn right.

I gather there is no legal contract documenting the co-ownership? You should have mentioned it if so.

20,000 GBP? Sounds like you got within 10% of what you deemed the lowest acceptable amount? If so, that's not all bad in these strange times.

 

an LP gets screwed? nah.

your not in the US so all bets are off but i would say the dealer has no responsibility towards anyone that is not on the docs / authorized signor.


i believe you would have a valid claim against your co owner but that also depends on the wording in any docs

 

Oh how true! And sometimes not for the better.......

 

As you said you got more use out of it despite having less equity ( per your words, you used it 95% of the time despite having 46% equity )

Also if your relationship with the owner was a personal one or a good one, how would he feel about you splitting hairs with his daughter ?

you took a risk, someone died, at least you got most your money. Life’s too short for these battles.

 

I have known several dual ownerships from real estate to cars to farm equipment. Never ends well. Many times the two parties will not speak to each other afterwards. It would be better for each party to purchase their own car and just let their friend take it for a spin.

 

With regard to her not letting you have the car for the rally event, that sounds like downright obstinance and mean-spiritedness. Did you have any kind of relationship with her before her father’s death, or some reason for her to have a grudge?

 

You don't mention if you tried to buy her majority share. I would think that would be the easier option for all involved. Then you would have owned the car outright....she probably would have taken less just to sell it since it no longer had any emotional value to her.

 

which dealer was it? they clearly took advantage of the situation to gain £20k+ extra profit.

if you had relationship with them then it's more understandable than if you've bought other cars etc in which case it's disgusting.

 

At the end of the day, you ended up with 9k less than what you had previously agreed to accept. Should you choose to fight that out, most of that best case of 9k will disappear to a lawyer.

 

Post#9 Barkaway

According to the OP.....the car sold for £20k less than the agreed to price between the co-owners. There is no "extra profit" unless the other co-owner paid a higher commission without the OP's knowledge.

 

Obviously it is too late now, but you and your partner should have had a written agreement about the disposition of the car. However, I'm sympathetic to the fact that who the hell thinks of such things until they happen.

As far as used, and even new, car dealers, this forum is rife with buyer/seller beware stories.

 

I think you have experienced the problems of being a minority partner. It is a lesson well learned requiring no repeat experience. While a difficult pill to swallow your psychi may be best served just putting the experience behind you. IMO

 

My car partner and I have know each other since high school. We hired his accounting firm to help our company in 1992 and he has been a huge plus in several business deals since then. We partnered up in 2006, when he bought into my 1995 355 Spider, and we bought a 1996 TT Porsche. Sold the Pbug a year later to buy a 2005 Ford GT, which we sold last week. We have also co-owned a 2013 California, and a 2009 ZR1 Vette.

No shared cars until we do the Museum Delivery on a C8 Corvette in late November.

He likes to tinker, and I like to drive them. It's been a great partnership. Here we are with Camilo Paro, who designed the 05 Ford GT, at a National GT Rally in Austin. Got to drive his girlfriend around the Circuit of the Americas doing parade laps with the GT's.
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I have been in probably 30+ limited and general partnerships and share holder in several small corporations. Many/most have been w/o a hitch and enjoyable. That said there have been a few the parties “lawyered up” which were frustrating and expensive. The good ones were not worth the problems of the bad ones by a long shot. IMO
Additionally no one lives forever and while your buddy was a good guy and partner his heirs may be far less amenable and there may be a lot of them.
If you elect to transact via a partnership have it all spelled out in a signed document particularly the terms about selling your interest. Even with well crafted documents you may have to get a couple of attorneys to negotiate their termination. Been there done that!