QUESTION
Can a dealership impound my vehicle without notifying me?
Asked on Mar 01st, 2020 on Civil Litigation - Virginia
More details to this question:
I am a cosigner on my boyfriend's vehicle. He recently needed a repair on his car which was completed by a local Mercedes dealership. They told him the final total due after the repair and he was unable to pay right away. His car sat on their property for 4 months whilst he still communicated with them that the money would be coming. They sent him a text saying they were impounding his vehicle. I was never notified by the dealership of any legal action being taken on the car. I went to the dealership with him to pay the amount due and after they processed our debit card they told us they didnt know where our car was. Currently we are still searching. Can they do this without notifying me?
1 ANSWER
If Virginia law is hte same as where I practice, yes (keep the car until the repair bills are paid, not lose your car). BTW, you are not a co-opwner just because you are a co-borrower, but I will assume that you are also on the title. In any event, a co-owner of hte car brought it in for repair. If he was not expressly authorized by you, the other co-owner, to do so, it appears (based on the limited facts you've set forth) that he was impliedly aughorized as a matter of law. Incidentally, those repairs increased the value of the car, thus benefitting you as well as your bf. In most states (again, not sure if Va is exactly the same), a mechanic who repairs a vehicle has a mechanic's lien entitling him to retain the vehicle until the repairs are paid for.
Answered on Mar 02nd, 2020 at 4:02 PM