The Laws of Racing: What You Need to Know Vol 2
In last month’s column, we touched upon several examples where knowledge of your rights and duties under the law can have a direct impact on your racing activities. Thos knowledge can ensure that the law works for you, not against you. Included among these instances are the purchase or sale of a vehicle, contracting for work to be performed or parts purchased, sponsorship contracts, rental agreements, and race bookings. This month, we’ll take a look at one of the more common instances where the law may work for you, but only with the right preparation and execution.
Virtually all of us have either purchased or sold a motor vehicle at one time or another. When a dealership or commercial seller is involved, you can be sure you will be seeing a written contract, especially when they are the seller. The dealership will set forth in great detail the total price, including any delivery fees, applicable sales taxes, and extras, as well as the manner in which the price is to be paid. They will also take great pains to disclaim any warranty, unless they have included or sold one with the vehicle, and if so, to set forth exactly what is covered under that warranty, and more importantly, what is not. The reason for all of this, of course, is to protect the dealership in the event that a dispute arises between them and the buyer. Since the dealership drafted the contract, you can be sure that they have made certain that they will not be delivering title to that vehicle until the price is paid in full, and that they will not be held responsible for any problems that may arise with the vehicle, unless they have specifically agreed to such responsibility. As the buyer, your legal recourse, should there be a dispute, is limited to the words on the contract. Arguments such as “I don’t care what the contract says, the salesman told me something else”, and, “well, it ought to be covered”, are simply legally insufficient, and will result in losing litigation every time. The point is, the written word always wins over the spoken word.
Keeping this in mind, the next time you find yourself on the verge of selling a vehicle to another private individual; make sure you set forth in writing, in as much detail as possible, the terms and conditions of the sale. What is the total price, and does it include all of the spare parts, the sales tax, and delivery? How is payment to be made? If it is in installments, when will the title be transferred? What happens if payments are missed? Is there a late fee? In the event of a total failure to keep up payments, when can the seller cancel the contract and reclaim possession of the vehicle? What is the warranty, if any? You can never be too specific, so long as the terms of the contract are clear and understood. If you are the buyer, you have just as much interest in the above as the seller. You need to know what you are getting, how you are expected to pay for it, and what you can do in the event of a problem, if anything. The contact does not need to contain all sorts of legal language to be binding. It does need to express the intention of both parties, it does need to be signed by both parties, and it does need to be lawful, meaning that it cannot override any state, local, or federal laws that may govern that specific transaction. Take a few simple steps before the money changes hands, and you will often save yourself a lot more money down the road.
If you have any questions you would like addressed in this space, email me, and we’ll try to help out not only you, but everyone else as well.
Mike Dimand is a licensed attorney with over 20 years experience in Motorsports. He has represented drivers, car owners, promoters, and sponsors. He can be reached at (312) 263-2070 for Motorsports related services and counsel.