I just had a seller back out on a consummated deal and I’m looking for guidance on how to proceed.

My girlfriend sold her primary car about a year ago. She’s been looking for a nicer ride to show up to client meetings in. First it was a Tesla lease, then a Porsche Boxster, and she finally landed on a BMW X5 M last week (days after I had just bought her the Porsche lol).

I was out of town while she test drove it and the cash is with me. After the test drive we negotiated the price and I went to work scheduling a PPI since it had high mileage. I spend a few hours calling around and schedule it for this upcoming Wednesday.

Yesterday I asked the seller for an update for his schedule and he didn’t respond in the usual time. Today I bump the iMessage to the top and he replies saying he sold it and the car is gone.

Shit happens right? Well, this was something my girlfriend was really looking forward to after a whole year of Ubering etc. Also, on Friday (1-2 days after we made the agreement on the BMW) she was given very bad news and has to have heart surgery. This guy backing out has caused her to break down and start asking why nothing in life is going right for her etc.

They’re both in the state of California. It’s a rare build (2010 BMW X5 M e70) and she can’t find any that are in the same price range that we agreed upon.

Guys, what are our options here realistically? She wants the BMW not the Porsche.

I already told the seller he needs to get it back and I’ll just pay him full price but he’s refusing. Again, we had a bonafide, albeit verbal, agreement and I gave him consideration in that I scheduled a PPI, stopped looking for cars for her, and spent hours of time finalizing this deal.