In Feb of 2014, we bought a 10K mile 2013 GL450 from a local Illinois dealer. Fast forward 7.5yrs, the SUV has been remarkably trouble-free and now has 74K miles. We decide it's time to get something new with a warranty, yadda yadda. Decided on a '22 X5 45e, placed an order, and now we're about 3-4 weeks from delivery.
Great! now it's time to sell the GL450. About a month ago, my wife hit a deer, thankfully she slammed on the brakes and only tapped the deer. The end result were two cracks in the front bumper and a loose fog light.. As a result, I thought I'd have better luck going private party, rather than trade in or selling to carmax/vroom/carvana etc.
This past weekend I detailed, polished and waxed the GL450. It looked great, Sunday I took a bunch of pics and posted a for sale ad in Facebook marketplace and a few local groups. The messages started pouring in, tons of interest. I posted it for $3,500 less than the cheapest GL450 with similar miles in the entire country. I disclosed every defect and included the clean Carfax.
Within 3 hours of posting the for sale ad, I had three people that wanted to see it the next day (Labor Day). One guy, we'll call him Bob was super eager and wanted to come see it right away, we arranged a time early morning on Monday for him to see it. he came out looked at it, test drove it, and agreed to buy it for my full asking price. Since it was labor day, he left me a $100 deposit and said he'll go to the bank first thing on Tuesday. Tuesday rolls around, it's noon, he calls and says, sorry but his wife decided she wants a brand new SUV. OI can keep the deposit. Fine, whatever.
I immediately mark the FB ad as available and reach out to the people that wanted to buy it. A lady from Plainfield responds that she can meet me in 30 mins to look at the car. She arrives 30 mins later with her husband, looks the car over, takes a test drive and says they'll take it for the full asking price. They have cash with them. Great, I print a bill of sale, get the title. count the money, we sign all the paperwork. and they're on their way. happy as can be.
2 hours later I get a frantic call from the husband. He's at the secretary of state office trying to register the car. The DMV told him the title is invalid, WTF. I ask him to put the sec of state person on the phone, he does, and the lady on the line tells me that there was another title issued on the car in California, approximately 45 days after the Illinois title, thus making the Illinois title invalid. The guy can't register it without the California title.
So I call the dealer where I bought it from, ask them WTF, they say they'll investigate and call me back.. 2 hours later they call back, and confirm a California title was issued with the bank I had a loan with as the lienholder along with my info. WTF.
The timeline is
Yesterday, I call the buyer, explain what's going on and we agree to unwind the deal. So last night my wife and I drove to the buyers house, gave him his money back and we drove home with the GL450.
So that's my story, sorry it's long, but I needed to vent.
pic of the GL450
Deer damage:
Great! now it's time to sell the GL450. About a month ago, my wife hit a deer, thankfully she slammed on the brakes and only tapped the deer. The end result were two cracks in the front bumper and a loose fog light.. As a result, I thought I'd have better luck going private party, rather than trade in or selling to carmax/vroom/carvana etc.
This past weekend I detailed, polished and waxed the GL450. It looked great, Sunday I took a bunch of pics and posted a for sale ad in Facebook marketplace and a few local groups. The messages started pouring in, tons of interest. I posted it for $3,500 less than the cheapest GL450 with similar miles in the entire country. I disclosed every defect and included the clean Carfax.
Within 3 hours of posting the for sale ad, I had three people that wanted to see it the next day (Labor Day). One guy, we'll call him Bob was super eager and wanted to come see it right away, we arranged a time early morning on Monday for him to see it. he came out looked at it, test drove it, and agreed to buy it for my full asking price. Since it was labor day, he left me a $100 deposit and said he'll go to the bank first thing on Tuesday. Tuesday rolls around, it's noon, he calls and says, sorry but his wife decided she wants a brand new SUV. OI can keep the deposit. Fine, whatever.
I immediately mark the FB ad as available and reach out to the people that wanted to buy it. A lady from Plainfield responds that she can meet me in 30 mins to look at the car. She arrives 30 mins later with her husband, looks the car over, takes a test drive and says they'll take it for the full asking price. They have cash with them. Great, I print a bill of sale, get the title. count the money, we sign all the paperwork. and they're on their way. happy as can be.
2 hours later I get a frantic call from the husband. He's at the secretary of state office trying to register the car. The DMV told him the title is invalid, WTF. I ask him to put the sec of state person on the phone, he does, and the lady on the line tells me that there was another title issued on the car in California, approximately 45 days after the Illinois title, thus making the Illinois title invalid. The guy can't register it without the California title.
So I call the dealer where I bought it from, ask them WTF, they say they'll investigate and call me back.. 2 hours later they call back, and confirm a California title was issued with the bank I had a loan with as the lienholder along with my info. WTF.
The timeline is
- Feb 2014 - bought/financed the GL450
- June 2014 - Illinois title issued
- Aug 2014 - California title issued
- Jan 2016 - original bank First Merit acquired by Huntington Bank
- June 2017 - Loan paid off
- July 2017 - Huntington sent me the Illinois title with the payoff letter
Yesterday, I call the buyer, explain what's going on and we agree to unwind the deal. So last night my wife and I drove to the buyers house, gave him his money back and we drove home with the GL450.
So that's my story, sorry it's long, but I needed to vent.
pic of the GL450
Deer damage:
