Oakland, CA asked in Civil Litigation for California

Q: Can a mechanic sale your car without a contract of the car being at there shop

Hello I had a verbal agreement with the mechanic over the Covid that I could leave my car at his shop we never Signed any paperwork when I brought my car there I never got any bills then he sent me a lien of sale from the DMV but I didn’t see the mail until late and he had already sold my car is there anything I can do to at least get the money because I’m still paying payments and insurance on the car

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1 Lawyer Answer
Maurice Mandel II
Maurice Mandel II
Answered
  • Newport Beach, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: The answer is Yes, the mechanic can sell your car after doing work on it, with no contract. Under vehicle lien laws, which are found in the Civil Code § 3067-3074, allow a mechanic to sell the car either after presenting a bill or after performing work. He was supposed to send you the lien paperwork which he filed with the DMV and the DMV also sent a copy to you, certified mail, RRR; which gave you 30 days to protest, which would have extinguished the lien and saved your car. One thing is that the car must be less than $4,000.00 in value. There is an excellent discussion of these laws at https://www.stimmel-law.com/en/articles/garagemans-lien-how-seize-and-sell-car but it is written to give advice to the mechanic, not the car owner.

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