What happens if your child sells your car?

Question

There's a strip in Calvin & Hobbes where Calvin attempts to sell his mother's car. Briefly, Calvin (who's six years old) pesters his mother for money, but is told "no". Calvin asks for soap instead, and his mother is trying to work so she says "yes" just to get rid of Calvin. Calvin then attempts to sell his mother's car by writing "4 Sale Cheap" on the car with soap.

Legally, what would have happened if someone actually paid him cash, received the keys, and drove the car away? Clearly the sale would not be legal, but would the buyer be able to force the car to be sold for Calvin's price? Would it be theft? What about Calvin's mother - would there be any consequences for her?

I've tagged this with united-states because this is where the strip is set.

Answer 1

If this was the kid’s bicycle, which might be their property: There was a valid contract, which will be voided by the guardian (parent). When it is voided, you have to return the bicycle, and can try to get your money back from the six year old. If they took your $100 to buy a bag of marbles, sorry, the money is gone. Which is absolutely appropriate because the law doesn’t want you to exploit six year olds.

If this was the kid’s parents’ car: You would have known that this is not the kid’s car, that they have no right to sell it, so expect this to be treated as theft by the buyer from the parents.

@Allure: There was no contract between the parents and the buyer, so they have no obligations. Now the reason for all this is that a kid is in a much weaker position than an adult. Say grandma bought her grandchild a $1,000 bicycle for their birthday. A week later you offer them $100. To the kid that is more money than they could ever have imagined so he thinks they are making the best deal of their life (like I would think if I was offered a million for my car). So kids could easily be ripped off, which is why they get extra protection.

If you want to enter into a contract with a minor, you should make an offer that is fair (both for legal and for ethical reasons), and be prepared that you might lose if you are not careful. For example a contract with a healthy 12 year old "you cut my grass and I pay you $20" if the $20 is not exploiting them would be Ok. Worst case the parents void the contract before the grass is cut. After it is cut, you pay the money.

Answer 2

The contract is void ab initio.

To sell a car, you need to have a good title in the car. Who is the owner of a car and who has good title is written down in the car's title documents, and a sale of a car goes with a title transfer document.

Calvin does not have good title, as he is not written down on the title of the car, his mother or father are. As such, he can't sell the car, and nobody can legally buy the vehicle from Calvin.

Because you can't sell something you don't own, any "buyer" taking the car would engage in a variety of crimes, starting with theft of a vehicle and any items in the car. Because Calvin is 6, he can't commit any crimes (yet).