My Mum sold a car that isn’t legally hers?

[Lilly1102]

Last year my Mum gave me my late grandmas car (she legally transferred ownership to myself). She inherited it but never drove it as she has her own car and it was just sitting on their driveway doing nothing. I am an only ‘child’ and my grandma really did adore me and would be so pleased I learnt to drive in her car.

i’m 25 so was a late learner. I insured the car, taxed it etc. When I passed my test my partner bought me a more ‘stylish’ car for Xmas. He pays for the tax and insurance on that one so I decided to continue paying for the car I learnt to drive on for a year just to get some no claims and also my younger cousin learnt to drive in it with my uncle so I thought I may as well insure it.

my cousin is now done with the car , my Mum has decided she wants to sell it. I asked her very politely if there was any possibility I could get a very small percentage of the car sale (ie £300) just because I’ve paid £1400 for the car over the year even though I never drove it.

I asked out of principle because legally it is actually in my name etc, it wasn’t about the money, i just asked to see if my parents actually ever considered my opinion or asking me.

my mum has never put any money into that car as my grandma bought it and my mum never drove it even when it was her name (I think she SORNed it).

It took so much courage to ask her as my parents are VERY ‘funny’ with money and I was right to be scared because she phoned me back SCREAMING down the phone telling me she needs the money for the car sale.

she screamed and cried and said ‘I don’t live in the world she’s living in’ (she assumes because I work in finance that I am some rich bitch) which is SO far from the truth.

I’d like to emphasise that my parents live in a 5 bed detached house with a large garden in the Home Counties with NO mortgage. My father is retired and although my mum doesn’t work (she’s also close to retirement age) they are hardly hard done by. Me and my partner on the other hand (although we are also not hard done by) we don’t own a house and we more a less live pay cheque to pay cheque most months.

her reaction really stunned me. It stuns me because they’re so critical of my boyfriend’s father who recently inherited a relatively large sum of ££ from a house sale. My parents think he is selfish for not giving my partner any money for a house deposit from it and they always tell me that if they had spare money they would give it to me.

me and my boyfriends view is that it’s his fathers money - he can spend it on what he likes but my parents have such a double standard because whenever I ask for any help (not on a large scale at all) they quick up a huge fuss.

was I wrong for asking? Like I say, I don’t want the money but I’m more hurt at my mums reaction given her beliefs about other people’s attitudes towards their money! They’re so judgemental about everyone else and as soon as I ask (which I never do because even growing up I was met with reactions like this) it turns out to be a huge drama.

If your mum inherited the car then it's legally hers. Transferring the log book into your name only makes you the registered keeper, not the legal owner (there's a difference). If you purchased the car off her then it would be yours.

Why did you put £1400 into a car, when your partner bought you a fancier one and you have no need to have two cars for yourself?

So you purposely started an argument? You asked out of principle, you knew that they were funny with money and you never wanted the money in the first place.

she didn’t have to let you use the car while driving and could have sold it straight away.

you antagonised the situation here

Incorrect. The OP was given the car. It's her car.

In what way did she transfer it to you

Apart from the cost of running it, you didn't buy it either...surely your mum gifted it to you? I get that legally it is yours, but in a family I would probably have just assumed she would sell it on when you no longer needed it. And in terms of help, you could see it that her giving you the car at the time was help.

She over-reacted though for sure.

If money is tighter for you, perhaps a 'fancier' car wasn't necessary, and they're seeing that and assuming it isn't an issue for you?

I'm trying to picture a similar scenario in my family... if my mum gave me her mum's car to use when she passed I would assume it would go back to the giver when I didn't need it any more. I would have spoken to the uncle about helping with the cost of the cousin using it.

I get that on paper it was yours, but I think this is you looking for a fight because of past issues. Which you've now got. 🤷‍♀️

A V5 is the registered keeper it is not the legal owner.

It sounds like your sensitivity over earlier money issues has caused you to bristle unreasonably about this particular issue. You say that your parents are 'funny' about money - perhaps this has contributed to you, too, being 'funny' about it?

If the car weren't legally hers, she would not, legally, have been able to sell it. So I suspect that it was hers, and you were simply the registered keeper?

You say that you have "paid £1400 for the car over the year" - but actually that seems not to be payment for the car but for tax and insurance, ie the costs associated with using the car. And you also say that you expect to benefit from covering the insurance (building up a no claims history).

Your mother gave you the use of the car over a period, which was useful for you and saved you money (until you had a further gift!!! from a boyfriend in this case). I don't think you should expect another gift - ie part of the cash value of the car - now that you no longer need the car itself.

It's her car which she lent to you. Did you pay for anything other than tax and insurance?

Yes associated costs. It was just her reaction crying hysterically and screaming - and in response to the other responses on here - No I was not trying to cause an argument at all. I didn’t know that if she gave the car (and the log book) that she would legally be the registered keeper and if that’s the case, then I’m obviously wrong for asking.

i do still think her reaction was over kill! And she didn’t give the car to me and ever say ‘I would like it back’ it was a more of ‘I really don’t want it it’s a hassle on my driveway’ so of course I weren’t to know that she was ever going to sell it!

Why/how did your partner buy you a fancy car if you are living paycheck to paycheck? And you technically had a car already? Madness

Ok, thank you! I do in fact stand corrected then.

I never said it was fancy. I said it was more ‘stylish’ and it’s a 2003 car so not on finance. Why? because he loves me and it was my Christmas present - it didn’t put us into financial hardship - this was over a yr ago.

Oh I see - thanks, I never looked at it that way.

I guess I always thought of it as ‘if I GAVE’ my mum (or anyone) a handbag or anything really, I wouldn’t expect it back if I gave it to her. If it I lent something to her, then of course I’d expect it back!

i am reading the other comments and as it was inherited to her, I guess she is the legal owner which clears it up!

@Lilly1102 stylish/fancy whatever - just seemed odd to me to buy a car when you already had one. And while it didn't put you into financial hardship it just seems unnecessary.

Sorry that's the not the point of your thread! Your mum had quite the overreaction either way. If she really needed the money surely she could have had a normal conversation with you instead of the screaming and shouting.

You say your mum doesn't work and is nearing retirement age. So she currently has no income in her own name? Maybe she saw this as a small pot of cash for herself? Or maybe you just caught her at a bad time, if she doesn't normally overreact like that.

The £1400 if it was just on tax and insurance doesn't add value to the car, at the end of the year that money is gone and needs paying again

Perhaps if the car didn't start and needed extensive repairs to make it roadworthy and therefore added value to the car then perhaps morally your mum should give you some money. But not for tax, insurance and breakdown cover those things are intangible consumable costs and you may well get a part refund or in the case of breakdown transfer to a different car.

I guess you have learnt to not communicate much with your mother; for good reason. It was her car to sell but she should have been civil.

Bit cheeky to ask for a share of a car sale you no longer use and have had the use of for free while you needed it.

Mum's screaming is ott reaction though. She could have calmly explained that she was selling it as you now have a car and she needs the funds. I would have expected her to have some sort of conversation with you before selling.

If you're living from pay check to pay check why on earth are you shelling out for fancy cars? Sure, your parents are better off than you at this stage in life - that's normal - and your mum sounds like she went off on one but she gave you access to a car to learn in. You covered the normal costs associated with running a vehicle. I really don't think your mum is in the wrong here.

So you fairly well knew what her response would be but you asked anyway? You put money into a car you weren't using? and "it wasn’t about the money, i just asked to see if my parents actually ever considered my opinion or asking me." Honestly I am not sure why you are wasting your time and money pursuing a resolution with your parents that you won't get? I am sorry that your parents are such shit but not sure why you bother with them?

Yes and as I was asking her I did already apologise if she felt that I was out of order for asking - from what I’ve seen re the legal jargon from here maybe I was in the wrong and prob should’ve googled beforehand but legal or not it was just a very simple question. I didn’t ask in a greedy way, I was just wondering if she’d consider it and then she left a voicemail of her screaming and crying down the phone saying ‘she couldn’t believe my message’ as if I had said anything untoward.

No, I wasn’t 100% sure and if I knew what her response would’ve been (crying and shouting) I obviously never would’ve put her through such emotional turmoil.

it wasn’t ever intended to be such a dramatic turnout (but yes I do know they can be dramatic) so perhaps you’re right in that I should never have asked

but did you not kind of expect an OTT response? after all "t took so much courage to ask her as my parents are VERY ‘funny’ with money" and " They’re so judgemental about everyone else and as soon as I ask (which I never do because even growing up I was met with reactions like this) it turns out to be a huge drama." you know what they say about doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome?