Q: I was buying a car from a owner to find out he is not the owner. I gave him $500 down. Until he gets the title in hand.
I had him sign the back of a tire receit and stated what i was giving him and the rest when i got the title. But the real owner now has the car and he want give me my money.Can i sue him for my money plus more because i have kids and u drive them back and forth to school but now im paying gas money to others to take me around. I also had other people that was present who seen the transaction.
A:
Buying a car without taking delivery of the title was a bad idea. If the purported seller could not produce the title, you should have run away from this deal.
I would sue him for return of the funds in small claims court in the county where he resides. However, if the purported seller is this much of a scam artist and pretends to sell cars belonging to other people, he probably has a long long list of victims. You might want to talk to the magistrate about pursuing criminal charges too. The court can order restitution as part of the guy's sentencing if he is convicted. However, you may not get your money back any time soon but if criminal charges are filed and this guy is arrested, at least he will be off the streets temporarily and will not be scamming anyone else.
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